A New Beginning
by DaughterOfTheCetra
Summary: When Sephiroth killed Aeris, she had the power to stop him. A Limit called Great Gospel. This a story about what would have happened if she had used that power. AerSeph. Oh, my God! A New Chapter!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter I**

Yuffie Kisagari stared at Aeris Gainsborough, who was currently kneeling on some kind of alter in some city, that Yuffie found awfully creepy. She glanced at Cloud Strife and hoped that since they had found Aeris that they would be leaving soon. Cloud ran up to the stone pillars that led to Aeris' alter and Tifa Lockheart began to follow before he waved her off. Cloud quickly reached the spot where Aeris was and he walked up toward her. He unexpectedly stiffened his entire body. Yuffie had a sudden feeling that something was about to go wrong...very wrong.

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Tifa couldn't even begin to understand why Aeris had left the group to pray in this very old city. Why couldn't every one have gone with her? Of course, there were some things about the young Cetra that no one understood. For example, her ability to "speak with the Planet", as she called it. Tifa didn't understand, but she trusted Aeris completely, second only to Cloud. Cloud, the man she loved, her childhood friend and her team mate. It was because of all of those things, plus the fact that she was not big on expressing her feelings, that she could never tell him how she felt. Tifa watched as Cloud suddenly stiffened his entire body. She glanced quickly at Yuffie to see if she knew what was going on but all she saw on her face was confusion. Tifa looked back at the man she loved and watched the scene unfold.

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Cloud blinked and shook his head. Before he knew what was happening he drew his sword. He walked up to Aeris and shook his head again. Then, slowly, motion by motion, he readied his sword to swing it down on Aeris' head. He briefly noted that Aeris had not yet opened her eyes. He swung his sword. "CLOUD!!" Tifa screamed. He stepped back and shook his head yet again.

"Ugh, what are you making me do?" he whispered to himself somehow knowing that the man he had spoken to had heard him.

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Sephiroth chuckled, a dry, humorless sound. _Stupid Cetra_, he thought_. My son_, his mothers voice whispered to him, _get rid of her. Do it for your mother! She is the only threat to our plan_. Sephiroth didn't quite understand how this frail creature could be a threat to the Great Sephiroth and Jenova, his mother, but he believed anything his mother told him. She was, after all, the only person in the world who had ever told him the truth. He smiled, a cruel smile, and got in position to drop from above onto the silly, impudent Cetra.

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Aeris knew Cloud was standing in front of her but she also knew that Sephiroth was in the Cetra city. She had to finish her prayer to Holy and the Planet. She focused all of her energy on concluding her prayer. With a small smile, she opened her eyes. _I can sense Sephiroth...he's above me? I guess this is it then_. Aeris knew the sadness and conflicted emotions she felt were perceptible on her face, judging by the serious expression on Cloud's face. _This isn't fair!_

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Yuffie stood staring at Aeris' face and she saw a sudden change in her facial expression. Yuffie glanced over Aeris' head and saw the sword of Sephiroth, the Masamune. She knew what that meant. _Oh no..._

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Cloud tore his eyes from Aeris' and saw Sephiroth plunging from above_. I have to protect her_, he thought, but for some reason he couldn't move. _Come on, Cloud_! He said to himself. He felt like he was in a fog, watching as Sephiroth's sword came closer and closer to Aeris' body. _I'm sorry, Aeris_.

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Tifa looked at Aeris, waiting for her to get up so that they could leave. Suddenly, Aeris' serene smile fell off of her face. Tifa registered this suddenly alert. She looked over at Yuffie and saw the young girl looking above Aeris' head. Tifa followed suit and saw Sephiroth dropping down from somewhere above. She knew she had to do something but she didn't know what. So she did the first thing that came to mind. "AERIS!! Move!" she screamed.

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"AERIS!! Move!" Tifa screamed at her. Aeris wasn't so sure she was ready to die anymore. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. _I'm sorry_, she mentally whispered to the Planet. Aeris couldn't get her body to budge so she did what came natural to her.

"Great Gospel," she whispered so quietly she could barely hear herself. Suddenly, Sephiroth's long sword was there, completely through her. She looked down, surprised, not only by having a giant sword run her through but also because she didn't feel it at all. She smiled.

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Sephiroth saw his sword slide through the girl, but he didn't have the familiar feeling of it slicing through flesh. He stared at her, surprised. She didn't fall forward or act as if in pain. He smirked and thought to his mother, _I guess she really does have some power_. A sudden thought occurred to him. _If she is a Cetra, why are we eliminating her? Shouldn't she be on our side, fighting with us?_ He asked his mother. He could sense Jenova hesitate. _She is a traitor! She would ruin everything! She cannot be with us!_ Jenova yelled at him, apparently angry even though Sephiroth had not meant to anger her. _But she is a Cetra, like us! She should be at our side_! He continued to argue. _How dare you disobey your mother_! Jenova screamed at him. A sharp pain raced through his head and stopped right at both of his temples. He gasped at the pain and dropped the hilt of his sword. He fell to his knees and grabbed his head.

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Cloud knew this would be the perfect time to attack Sephiroth but he raced to Aeris' side to check on her and to see how she had survived. He sank down next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked her. She looked up at him and nodded then smiled.

"I'm fine but we have to hurry and get this sword out of me." He stood up and reached for the hilt but something prevented him from grabbing it.

"I can't touch it!" he said, clearly panicked.

"It's okay, Cloud." Aeris calmly replied. He watched in complete shock as she grabbed the blade of the sword and pushed it out of her back, the way it came. Yuffie and Tifa had reached the alter at that time and they joined Cloud in his utter shock. Aeris stood up and, now holding the hilt of the Masamune, with the long blade dragging on the ground, walked the few steps to reach her best friend Tifa. She held out the sword to Tifa. "Don't let him get this 'kay?" she asked her friend. Tifa looked startled, glanced quickly at Cloud, and then looked back at Aeris.

O-okay...." Tifa said, clearly worried as she took the sword. He noticed her arms drop some from the weight of the massive weapon. Cloud wondered for a moment why he couldn't hold it but Tifa and Aeris could, but he turned his attention back to Aeris. Aeris smiled reassuringly at them, then turned to Sephiroth and began to walk toward him. Cloud panicked.

"Aeris, what are you doing?!" he asked her.

Calm down. I have to do this." she replied. She walked over to Sephiroth and before anyone could stop her she knelt down next to him.

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Aeris was kneeling by Sephiroth, trying to decide what would be the best course of action. To tell the truth, she was terrified, but she assumed that this was the reason her Limit worked. The Planet could have stopped it from being effective but it hadn't. And now Sephiroth was seemingly in pain. _Well, I have to hurry before he loses complete control of himself_, Aeris thought. "Sephiroth?" she whispered. He didn't respond. "Sephiroth, can you hear me?" she asked, using a quiet, gentle voice.

"Aeris, lets just kill him and get over with," Cloud suggested. Aeris ignored him. She touched his shoulder and said his name again. Before she could even think, Sephiroth was holding her by her throat above the ground. Aeris struggled to breathe. She struggled to suck in air, but there was none. Spots began to dance in front of her eyes, when suddenly she was laying on the ground, gasping for breath. She looked up and saw that Cloud had knocked Sephiroth down onto the ground. Yuffie and Tifa had come up beside her and Tifa asked, "Are you okay?" Aeris didn't reply at first, concentrating on trying to breathe. Then she saw that Cloud had his sword pressed against Sephiroth's throat.

"Tifa! Yuffie! Stop him! Don't let Cloud kill him!" They both just gave her funny looks. Aeris could understand why but she didn't have time to explain. "Cloud! Stop it!" Aeris screamed. He didn't listen. _I have to stop him!_

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Sephiroth could have easily tossed Cloud off of him but he thought maybe Cloud could use a little glory. Cloud's blue eyes never stopped glaring right into his. Sephiroth smirked. Just as he was about to break free of Cloud's grip, someone ran up and pulled Cloud away from Sephiroth. He stared at the girl who had done it. It was the Cetra, the one he had tried to kill twice. For a moment he was confused. Why was she helping him? His question was quickly answered. "What do you think you are doing?!" Cloud yelled at Aeris.

"Don't kill him Cloud. Please," Aeris responded. Sephiroth was about to say something along the lines of how he would like to see him try, but the girl cut in before he could. "I think the Planet wants me to save him." she said. Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie and Sephiroth all gave her disbelieving looks_. Hmm...maybe she could be of some use to us_, Jenova whispered to him. Sephiroth was surprised but not about to argue with her after what had happened last time. He nodded and was about to walk to Aeris but his mother hissed, _Not here! The puppet will try to stop you and he may die. We don't want that to happen so close to The Reunion do we?_ So what was he supposed to do?_ Let me have a little fun and while the others are distracted take the girl_, Jenova suggested. He smirked and threw the arm of Jenova at Cloud. It hit him right on the stomach. Suddenly a form of Jenova appeared and everyone stared at it. He heard the youngest girl, the one with the short dark hair whisper "Another one?" Sephiroth waited for an opportunity to get the girl with no interruptions.

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Cloud knew Sephiroth was planning something but he was too distracted with trying to kill the Jenova to care. He swung his sword and hit Jenova on a place on what he assumed were legs. He glanced at his comrades to see how they were doing. Tifa was also attacking the legs and appeared to be still holding strong. Yuffie was just getting up after being attacked with some kind of blue flame. Aeris was standing away casting curing spells on the group whenever they were needed. Cloud's attention was diverted when Jenova let loose a powerful attack. Blue bubbles surrounded everyone except for Sephiroth and, oddly enough, Aeris. Cloud felt weak and he looked up to Aeris to see if she had started casting cure spells just in time to see Sephiroth wrap an arm around Aeris' waist. Cloud struggled to get up, unsure on exactly what was going on. He figured it out, however, when Aeris started to scream and Sephiroth covered up her mouth with his other hand. Sephiroth looked at Cloud and saw him watching and he smiled. Sephiroth then leapt into the air and went higher and higher until he was gone. Cloud attempted to stand but his legs wouldn't cooperate. He looked over at Tifa, and noticed that she wasn't awake before he faded in unconsciousness.

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Barret Wallace was angry. He, Cid Highwind, Red XIII, Cait Sith, and the newest addition to the team, Vincent Valentine stood just outside of a giant shell house. They had been waiting for almost an hour. Barret wanted to hurry up and get a move on so they could defeat Shin-ra. That is, after all, the reason most of them had joined the team. Barret knew that was his reason. After Shin-ra had destroyed his hometown, killing his wife, they had shot his best friend Dyne, and rendered his right hand useless. He had gotten rid of his artificial arm and had a gun grafted in instead. "I wonder what is taking them so long." Red XIII (or Nanaki as the people of Cosmo Canyon called him) mused. Red was a large cat-like creature that was the last of his race and could talk.

"I bet they're fine!" Cait Sith replied obviously thinking that it was his responsibility ability to keep spirits high. Cait was a little black cat that rode around on top of a giant stuffed moogle that he claims to have brought to life by "magic".

"Yeah, there's probably no reason to worry...but I wish I knew what is taking them so friggin' long!" Cid said in his gruff voice. Cid was sorta the unofficial leader of Rocket Town. He had a bad smoking problem. He used to be a pilot for Shin-ra and was gonna be the first man in space! He had to stop the space mission when a mechanic named Shera was fixin' something and would have died. He saved her life but Shin-ra cut the space programs budget and Cid quit. Vincent, as usual didn't offer his opinion. Vincent was a stoic guy that was really kinda creepy. He had a metal claw for a hand and wore a cape and heavy boots even in the hottest temperatures. Of course that probably had something to with the fact that he had been the butt of some pretty nasty experiments courtesy of Shin-ra's mad scientist, Professor Hojo. He also had some other stuff done to him, for example he can transform into these really creepy monsters when he gets really mad, and he is essentially immortal. Also he was involved with a woman named Lucrecia, who is, according to Vincent anyway, Sephiroth's mother. Barret looked around at AVALANCHE, which was the team's name and said,"I think we should go in there." Cid immediately agreed. Red pondered this for a moment and then nodded his fur-covered head.

"I agree. Although I believe nothing unfortunate has occurred it will do no harm anyone to verify." The three of them looked at Cait who said, "Okey-Dokey! Let's go!" They all then looked at Vincent. He nodded, making his jet black hair shake, but all he said was, "I agree." Barret grinned and said "Let's go!"

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Vincent walked silently behind all of the other AVALANCHE members. He hoped that Sephiroth would not be inside of the house. He did not want any harm to come to him. He was, after all, the son of the woman he had loved. Of course, she had died long ago. And it was entirely fault. He couldn't save her, the one he loved, from Hojo's evil. Hojo. Just the name made Vincent want to hurt someone. Hojo had taken everything from him. He had stolen the love of his life, her son, Vincent's own life and his job as a Turk, Shin-ra's assassins. Vincent had to clench his fist to keep his wrath concealed. His thoughts turned to Lucrecia and his anger almost immediately turned into sadness and guilt. Luckily he was distracted from his thoughts the moment they stepped off of the long stairway that led to the underground capital. They saw Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie lying motionless on top of a stone alter. "Tifa!" Barret yelled because Tifa was his closest friend. Red and the others went to check on Cloud and Yuffie, but it was Vincent who noticed something else.

"Where is Aeris?" He questioned in his quiet voice. Everyone, who was awake, looked shocked as if they hadn't thought about it. Red threw a phoenix down on Cloud and Cloud sat up, weak but alive. Red quickly cast cure and Cloud was on his feet in an instant looking around wildly. He obviously didn't see what he was looking for because he kicked his foot on the ground, looking very angry. Every one else looked at Yuffie and Tifa for an explanation.

"Sephiroth was here." Tifa started and the members who did not know looked shocked with the exception of Vincent who always hid his emotions. She continued, "Aeris was here, on this alter, praying or something when he dropped down from the sky and stabbed her through the stomach with his sword." Most everyone gasped with the exceptions of Cid, who swore, and Vincent, who once again showed no emotion.

"He tried to kill Aeris?!" Barret said, clearly upset.

"Twice." was Yuffie's input adding to the group's confusion. Tifa gave Yuffie a look before continuing,

"Somehow Aeris survived. She must have done some sort of spell that made her invincible or something. Anyways, Sephiroth started holding his head and Aeris went to help him but he grabbed her by the neck and tried to choke her! Cloud" she paused to throw an affectionate glance at the person of whom she was speaking, that he obviously did not see, before continuing "saved her and Sephiroth threw a Jenova at us and we started fighting it when she did a powerful attack and knocked us out. I'm not sure where Aeris is though" Cloud looked up.

"I do." he said in a low voice. "Sephiroth. He took her. Kidnapped her or something. And I couldn't protect her." To everyone's surprise it was Vincent who comforted him, "It's not your fault, Cloud. It is Sephiroth who is at fault, not you." Everyone looked at him funny. Then Yuffie spoke up,

"The only thing we can do now is try and find her, right?" she looked the group over. Cloud nodded and began to walk. Cid grinned and said,

"I think that's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say, brat!" The sixteen-year-old ninja glared at him and replied

"Ooo! Intelligent! That's a big word! I don't think your brain can take it." They continued to bicker back and forth as AVALANCHE left the Ancient City.

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Tifa looked ahead of her at the group. Everyone had someone to talk to except for herself. She, normally, would talk to Cloud or Aeris but with Aeris gone, Cloud acted like he didn't want company. Cid and Yuffie were still fighting about who knows what with Cait Sith playing referee, Red and Barret were involved in a quiet discussion and Tifa could see Cloud's huge, spiky, blonde hair over Barret's head. Tifa decided she would attempt conversation with Vincent. She fell back until she reached his side. "Hey." she said. He just nodded. She hesitated and then said "Are you doing okay?" she asked him. He nodded again. She stifled the urge to groan. This was like talking to a wall! She tried one more time "So, how come you piped up back there to reassure Cloud?" she said. Tifa finally got a response.

"I do not believe it was Cloud's fault." he said quietly. Tifa nodded.

"I agree. He couldn't stop Sephiroth. None of us could." Tifa suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with this. She quickly figured out what it was. Here Vincent was saying it wasn't Cloud's fault when he was taking the blame for something that wasn't his fault that happened almost thirty years ago. "So, you think that it wasn't Cloud's fault and he should stop blaming himself, huh?" Tifa questioned.

"Yes" Vincent replied. "He shouldn't blame himself for something he could not control." Tifa grinned.

"So, it's kinda like your story with Hojo and Lucrecia, then." Tifa, seeing that Yuffie and Cid had stopped fighting ran to catch up with them to start a conversation and to leave Vincent alone with his thoughts.

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The red cat-like creature lifted his head and sniffed the wind. So far they had made it with out incident, no monsters had assailed them, but Red XIII did not let his guard down. He walked just behind Cloud, the leader of their group, because he had the best senses and would know whenever anything was coming long before anyone else. Red was one of the few members who appreciated the silence, even enjoyed it. But, he found himself missing the flower girl from the slums of Midgar. Aeris used to pat his nose and he pretended that he did not like it but really he found it quite pleasant. He would miss her. _Stop it_, he commanded himself, she _is not gone forever_. We shall find her. He noticed that the temperature had dropped considerably and that there were a few scattered patches of snow. He looked back to check on the women because they were probably awfully cold by now. Tifa only had on a short black skirt and a short tank top. Yuffie wore shorts and a short dark green tank top, but she would probably be warmer than Tifa for she had an arm guard and a leg brace. They were both shivering. For a moment he wished he had a jacket to offer them but then he saw Vincent step up and offer Tifa his red cape and Cid gave Yuffie his pilot jacket. He then proceeded to tell her to be careful with it and offered up numerous threats if she should mess it up. Red turned his attention back to Tifa. She was smiling gratefully at Vincent. Vincent nodded and returned to his place at the end of the line. Tifa frowned slightly, probably from the lack of response from Vincent, before she shrugged and continued her conversation with Yuffie. Red turned back around. He had to be ready for anything.

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Aeris struggled against Sephiroth's vise-like grip. She wanted to scream but she was afraid of what he would do to her. She was keeping an eye on their surroundings so that, in case she got a chance to escape, she could find her way back. There was snow completely covering the ground and Aeris was freezing. She wanted to cross her arms to block out some of the bitter cold but since Sephiroth was holding one of her arms it wouldn't work. "Hurry up, Cetra!" he snarled at her. Aeris felt a flash of anger at being bossed around and at being called 'Cetra' when she had a name.

"My name is Aeris!" she said indignantly. She saw Sephiroth smirk but he didn't say anything. "Excuse me? You want to try it? Come on. I know you can do it." Aeris wasn't sure why she kept on talking but it just poured out. Sephiroth stopped so suddenly that she ran into the back of him. "Hey!" she cried.

"Watch it, girl" he snapped, giving her a look that made the current temperature feel like Costa Del Sol.

"Sorry," she said. He looked satisfied and she knew he was just showing her who was in charge. "Your brake lights were out." She muttered almost silently and sarcastically. Aeris sighed loudly. She was cold, hungry, and lonely, she had a headache, and she wanted to go home. Aeris wasn't one to complain but this was too much. "Umm...Sephiroth? Do you, uh, have anything to, like, eat?" she winced at the quiver in her voice. Sephiroth continued to walk. She opened her mouth to try again but he spoke before she could.

"We will stop in thirty minutes." he paused for a moment before continuing, the next part obviously sarcastic "Think you can last that long, Cetra?" Aeris frowned and clenched her fist wishing she could hit him. Then she thought of what he would do to her if she did. Suddenly that urge was gone. Without warning her vision blurred. That usually meant that something was wrong with the Planet. She stumbled into Sephiroth's back. He turned and was about to yell at her when he saw her face. Aeris thought her head would explode. The Planet was screaming so loud. She brought her free hand to her head. _Make it stop_, she thought weakly. She whispered to Sephiroth

"Help me" before she collapsed into the cold snow.

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How'd you like it? I've had this written for awhile but it never occured to me to post it here. The chappie is more excitin (I think) because ....I don't know why. Feel free to review! Flames will be mocked mercilessly, so don't bother! The second chappie will be up soon (I hope) so if you liked it, then you won't have to wait long. Oh yeah! I forgot about the disclaimer! 'clears throat' Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy, I do not. However, if they are interested in selling it to me for a very low price...like say a pen...then I will be glad to buy it from them! See you next time!

=DotC=


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer I do not own Final Fantasy. Nor would I like to own Final Fantasy -shifty eyes- heh. -cough- 

CHAPTER 2

Sephiroth stared down into the snow at the point where the Cetra had collapsed just seconds ago. He was confused, a rare emotion for him. He was her captor and yet she had asked him for help. He bent over and picked her up, carrying her in his arms. _What is wrong with her, mother_? Jenova didn't answer at first but then told him mentally _The Planet must have screamed out to her. She can "speak" with it. If it screams it must be in pain, or in danger. Still, it must be in a lot of danger for it to knock her unconscious. It must know our plan_. Sephiroth nodded in comprehension. He stared down at the girl's face. She was beautiful with long chestnut hair, pink lips and bright green eyes. He knew that he should stop soon so that he could rest, although he was not tired, and to let the girl rest, but he knew that now that he was carrying her that he could go much faster. She could not slow the pace if she was not awake. He saw the cave where he had planned to stop, paused, glanced down at the unconscious girl in his arms, then continued to walk.

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_It's all my fault_, Cloud thought. _If only I were stronger or smarter or something, I might have been able to stop him from abducting Aeris_. Cloud walked at an extremely fast pace, making hard for the others to keep up. He heard an occasional snatch of conversation between Barret and Red, debating about who hated Shin-ra more. Yuffie and Tifa must have been talking because every now and then they would giggle. Cait Sith had been, surprisingly, quiet through the journey. He wasn't surprised that he had not heard a word from Vincent, and he knew that he probably hadn't said anything. Cid, who was right behind him, was breathing hard. Cloud decided that it was time for a break. He stopped and turned around and said, "Fifteen minutes." That was all he said. He didn't meet anyone's eyes or talk to anyone individually before he sat down, alone.

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Tifa watched as Cloud sat down by himself and contemplated going over. She decided to see if he was okay. She walked over and sat next to him. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern filling her pretty face. He nodded. "Are you sure?" she asked again. He nodded again and Tifa had the reminder of her conversation with Vincent. _Oh, yeah I still need to thank him for letting me borrow his cape_, she thought. "Umm....Cloud?" he didn't respond but Tifa knew he was listening, "The thing that happened with Aeris...it wasn't your fault. So, don't blame yourself, 'kay? I mean, I know you," she had to stop because tears stared to form in her eyes and she felt a moment of jealousy, "care for her, but you couldn't stop him. None of us could. Anyways, if you need to talk or something, I'm here." She placed a hand on his arm and he looked at her. She smiled but he seemed to notice the dampness of her eyes.

"Tifa, are you okay?" he asked. She nodded and forced a bigger and brighter smile. He _doesn't need to worry about me right now_, she thought.

"Of course! Hey, I've got to go talk to Vincent for a second but don't forget my offer." She got up and walked over to Vincent. He sat with his back facing her but she knew he was aware that she was there. She stood there for a moment trying to control her emotions. He sighed and said "Yes?" sounding quite impatient. She walked over and stood next to him before she answered.

"I wanted to thank you for letting me use this," she indicated to his cape, which she still had on, and was surprisingly warm in.

"You have no need to thank me. I do not deserve it after what I have done." Tifa paused and then, feeling much like Yuffie or Aeris must, she giggled and said, "You know the proper response is your welcome." He turned and looked up at her face. She smiled. "Go on, you can do it!' she encouraged playfully.

"You're welcome," he said solemnly. She almost giggled again but held it in. It was weird how just talking to Vincent could lift her spirits so much. "So do you think we'll find her?" he asked. Tifa was surprised because he had started the conversation and his apparent lack of belief in his and everyone else's ability.

"Of course!" Tifa replied, optimistic as always. He turned to face her again.

"How can you be so sure? Sephiroth is pretty good at not being seen. I think that if he doesn't want to be found, then we won't find him." Tifa wrapped his cloak closer around her body before she sat on a log near him.

"I don't know. You may be right, but I have to hope. The light of hope can be found anywhere. If we give up on her what do you think will happen?" They noticed that Cloud was standing up, ready to go. They both got up and looked at each other. Vincent answered her, "The same thing will happen even if we do hope," before he began to follow the rest of AVALANCHE.

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_There was a huge field. Wildflowers dotted the lush, green grass adding splashes of color everywhere. Aeris sat up and looked around_. Where am I? I remember falling into the snow. I must have blacked out so maybe this is a dream? _She stood up. Suddenly, she noticed a figure walking toward her, and even though it was broad daylight, she couldn't see who or what it was. She reached for her staff and found it missing along with her materia and, oddly enough, her red jacket. She started to panic, and turned to run. However, just like in the dream she sent Cloud, found that she could not. "Aeris........" a voice whispered. She stopped trying to run. Aeris recognized that voice. She had heard it many times in her dreams or in church in Midgar. Her mother's voice. Not Elmyra, the woman who had found her when she was six or seven, but her birth mother, who had died at the same time. _

"_Mom?" Aeris called, all too hopeful._

"_Yes, my daughter, I am here. I have come to warn you." she replied in the same quiet, whispery voice._

"_Warn me? About what? Where are we? Why can't I see you? Mom, are you still there?" The questions just kept coming._

"_Shh, my child. I am here. I have come to warn you about her....." _

"_Who?" Aeris asked, yet another question. The figure came closer and seemed to change. Instead of looking humanoid in shape, it was now a large circular shape with two long tails or tentacles coming out of the sides. It suddenly zoomed closer and the form of Jenova screamed, "ME!!"_

_Suddenly, Aeris was running in what might have been woods. It was no longer day, it was night and a huge full moon hung in the sky. She only caught flashes of it through the thick trees, the clouds, but mostly the heavy fog. Her breath came out short and uneven, indicating that she had been running for awhile, although she had no memory of it. Abruptly, Jenova was there in front of her. Aeris screamed. Jenova's laughter screamed through the darkness. Aeris turned around and ran. Almost immediately, she tripped over a log. She fell and rolled over to watch Jenova's approach_. Just a dream, just a dream, _the Cetra chanted in her mind. Jenova lifted a tentacle and Aeris realized how sharp they were. She lifted it higher and then dropped it quickly racing toward Aeris. She closed her eyes, waiting. The pain never came. She opened her eyes and saw Sephiroth standing there. He offered his hand, and his help. Without really thinking, she accepted both. He looked into her eyes and said "I'm here to help."_

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The Cetra had been out for over an hour. Several times she had moaned but only in the last thirty minutes or so. They had reached the Northern Crater but he couldn't go in while he was carrying her. She would have to wake, which meant he would have to wait. He walked over to a flat portion of the otherwise rocky ground. He set her down. The Crater was his final destination. This is where he would summon Meteor, and where he would destroy the puppet, Cloud, and his friends. Suddenly, the Cetra's eyes flew open. She sat up and it was easily noticeable that she was breathing hard. _Must have been a pretty frightening 'vision_', he thought with surprising interest. He studied her for a moment and noticed that she was shaking. _This is your chance to manipulate her into helping us,_ his mother whispered. Sephiroth was a little unsure about what to do, considering he didn't have much experience with people, especially if he had to be nice. _Just ask her if she is okay_, Jenova suggested, sounding a little impatient. He nodded and stood. Aeris looked up at him as he walked closer. He expected her to frown or glare or something other than what she did. She saw him, and smiled. He paused, more than a little confused. She stood up and faced him. "....Are you okay?" he asked. If she was startled by the question, she didn't show it.

"Yeah! I'm fine." She grinned and then added, "How are you?" Sephiroth forced a small smile, to appear friendlier. Continuing with his 'nice-ness' he said "Do you think you can go now?" This time she didn't hide her surprise.

"Why are you being all nice and stuff?" she asked, not looking suspicious, just curious. He smirked, his same old smirk, the creepy one, and said, "Why not?"

=========

Aeris wasn't sure why Sephiroth was being so nice, but she wasn't going to argue. She liked it. Still, they had been traveling at a fast pace for a long time, probably about four hours. They should have reached the bottom by now, according to Sephiroth, but monsters kept attacking, and Aeris was exhausted. She decided she had to have a break. "Sephiroth? Can we take, like, a five minute break?" she asked. He paused and looked back at her but kept walking. "Please?" He didn't stop. "Pretty please?" He sighed noisily.

"Fine. Five minutes." He sat down, but not before glaring at her.

"Thanks!" She must've looked very un-lady-like as she plopped down on the ground, but she didn't care. Without warning, the Planet began to speak to her. _My child_, it whispered. Aeris grinned. She loved talking to the Planet_. Hi!_ she answered in her mind. _There is danger soon, and you will have to face her. I have come to warn you_, it said. Aeris frowned. _I can't do it alone, I can't fight by myself_, she thought. _You won't have to, someone shall assist you, have no fear my daughter_, it assured her. _I have one question_, Aeris said in her mind, feeling that the Planet was about to leave her alone. _Why didn't you stop 'Great Gospel' from working in the Ancient city? I know I was supposed to die_. The Planet hesitated and Aeris heard the Planet's song. She knew the answer from the hesitation. _You don't want to be lonely, do you_? She could sense the Planet's nod. Aeris was about to say something but before she could the Planet whispered, _Goodbye_. She felt someone shaking her arm, and blinked, realizing, with a start that she had totally zoned out. She looked up and saw Sephiroth. She smiled weakly, but she had a million thoughts zooming through her head.

"Cetra!" Sephiroth said in a loud voice. "I have been calling you for a long time. What happened?" She could see his suspicious stare and she knew she had to hurry up and reply before he jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst.

"Nothing. I, uh, just must be more tired than I thought." she answered. He nodded, but apparently still was unsure. She put on a big, fake smile. "How much longer?" she asked, but she was thinking, _Who is going to help fight her?_

=========

Vincent watched Tifa as she talked to Yuffie, Barret and Cid. Well, mostly Barret since Cid and Yuffie seemed to be arguing.......again. He could hear snatches of their conversation, even from his place quite a ways back, because of the heightened senses that Hojo had 'graced' him with. They seemed to be talking about Barret's daughter, Marlene, who he had left with Aeris' mother. From what he could tell, Barret was concerned that Marlene would get hurt if she was only with someone she didn't know. Tifa was reassuring him, it seemed. If Vincent had been asked that about thirty years ago he would have said she would be fine. Unfortunately nothing ever went right in the world, so she probably wouldn't be okay.

=========

Sephiroth kept an eye on the young Cetra that walked beside him. He was surprised how well she was keeping his rapid pace. She didn't seem to be winded at all. For whatever reason she had a very determined look in her eyes, which was surprising to him since, just a short time before she was talking about how tired she was. He looked up to where the mouth of the crater would have been as if he could see it through the roof of rock that was above their heads. _You will have to stop soon_, Jenova said, sounding disappointed. _You will need your strength to fight the puppet_. Sephiroth didn't respond. He looked around. They were on a semi-smooth level of ground. He stopped. "This is where we will sleep for the night." He looked at Aeris, expecting her to say something, but she just nodded and walked over, closer to the edge. A gust of wind from below came up and blew Aeris' hair back, but she didn't move from her place and she barely even blinked. She's beautiful, he thought. The second he processed that idea he laughed out loud from the sheer absurdity. Aeris jumped a little and looked at him quizzically. He didn't acknowledge to her look before he took out his black sleeping bag and laid it out. She walked over and asked, "What about the monsters?" He paused.

"I'll keep watch for tonight," he replied.

"No, I can watch, too" she protested quickly. He looked at her, surprised that she would object to him protecting her. _Protect her? _He thought, _where did that come from? Not protecting her, protecting myself. _

"No, Cetra, I am a big boy. I can take care of myself." She looked angry at his sarcastic tone. She stomped over to him and looked into his eyes, matching his glare with her own.

"No! You need your rest just as much as I do!" she argued. _She is so stubborn_, he thought, smiling mentally but keeping his outward appearance angry. He sighed noisily.

"Fine, Cetra you win, but you get first watch." he said. He turned and walked back over to his sleeping bag. She smiled at his back and he heard her whisper, "Thank you, Sephiroth."

=========

Aeris looked around. There were no monsters and she was bored. She twirled her staff around in her fingers. Sighing, she glanced at Sephiroth. He appeared to be sleeping and, as much as Aeris wanted him to be, he was not sleeping peacefully. He was tossing and groaning and just about doing everything else that you could do in your sleep without waking up. He had stopped moving a few minutes ago however and she hadn't heard a peep since. Aeris needed to talk out some of the thoughts that were going through her head. "I wonder how much longer I have.... I'll bet the others are looking for me. I wonder if it's one of them that will help me. I assume I am fighting Jenova. I hope that me and the other person can beat her. Of course..." Aeris had a sudden memory return to her. It was of her as a child, maybe four or five, and she was sitting in her mother's lap. Her mom, Iflana, said something but Aeris couldn't make out what she was saying. Aeris blinked and she was suddenly back at the present. "Of course...... It has been said that everything on the Planet is essentially composed of energy. What we think of as matter is really nothing more a special type of energy, take Spirit energy as an example. And since energy can't be created or destroyed, only transferred, some believe that living beings never actually die. Their life energy is merely returned to the Planet in its simplest form." Aeris quoted, somehow remembering exactly, word for word, what her mother had said that day. Tears began to fall down Aeris' cheeks. "Mom" she whispered. The voices of her ancestors suddenly surged up and before that had always meant some kind of attack. She turned and raised up her staff which barely blocked the attack of a weird looking, one-eyed flying creature. Aeris was furious. Here this creature had the nerve to interrupt her thought process and she was going to make sure the monster paid dearly. Sure that wasn't her normal thought process but she was really mad. She lifted her Princess Guard and hit it. It flinched but it apparently wasn't hurt too bad. She let her staff float in front of her and she said "Bolt3!" It hit it hard, producing the results that she had wanted. It was hurt pretty bad, but it obviously wasn't down because it swooped down and attacked her. Aeris tried to evade the attack, and she almost did, but it knocked her on the arm. She fell flat on her butt. The Cetra winced but it also made her madder. She hopped up and hit it hard, casting fire at the same time. It finally faded away and died. "No! Come back! I'm not done with you yet....."Aeris couldn't finish her sentence because she fell to the ground, sobbing. She was so lonely. No mother, no father, no boyfriend, and even though they would never admit it, her friends thought she was weird and, unwittingly, they distanced themselves from her. And now, she had to face some weird alien life-form, and despite what the Planet said, she thought she had to face it alone. She was being held prisoner by an insane guy who killed people and who, just in case he's bored, decides to destroy the Planet she fought so hard to protect. _Come Aeris, get a hold of yourself! This isn't like you!_ No matter how hard she tried, however, she couldn't control her emotions. She laid there on the ground, her head buried in her arms, her body stretched out. She eventually fell asleep. That is the position Sephiroth found her just a few minutes after she had drifted off, awake during her whole dilemma.

=========

Yuffie wanted to stop walking now. She had stopped whining an hour ago, realizing that her complaints were falling on deaf ears. She had whined, pleaded, complained, cajoled (she wasn't sure what that meant, but she must have done it.) All conversations had been over for a long while. Dark had long since fallen, but Cloud showed no sign of stopping. Yuffie sped up a little, despite the protest her feet offered, to catch up with Tifa. "Hey" she whispered.

"Hi. Why are we whispering?" Tifa whispered back.

"Don't know. Anyways, I think you should tell Cloud to stop." Yuffie said, not whispering but talking quietly nonetheless.

"What?! Why me? What did I ever do to you?" Tifa asked, mostly kidding, but Yuffie knew what she was talking about. Cloud had been a little on edge for awhile. Since Sephiroth took Aeris, actually.

"Tifa! I'm serious! My feet are killing me, my legs are tired and we can barely see. Well, with exception of Vincent, maybe," Yuffie said.

"Fine, I'll talk to him. Just give me a minute, okay?" the older woman replied, reluctantly.

"Thanks, Tifa! You're the greatest!" the young ninja exclaimed. Tifa didn't reply, just ran up to Cloud and began talking to him. Yuffie couldn't hear what they were saying but she thought that Tifa was getting through to him. He nodded and she smiled and ran back to Yuffie. "Well?" Yuffie demanded impatiently.

"Calm down, Yuf. We stop in ten minutes." Tifa said. She had a smile on her face for some reason that Yuffie didn't know, because ten minutes seemed like forever to her. Yuffie, not one to care too much about other people when she had an issue herself, responded, "Ten minutes?! That's, like, forever!" So her whining went on for the ten minutes until they finally stopped and made camp.

=========

It was really dark. There was no moon in the sky and clouds were clouds covering up the stars. Of course, looking at clouds made Tifa think of Cloud. Tifa had liked him since they were children, but since she had found him at the Midgar train station, her feelings had grown. She had never told him how she felt when they were kids because Cloud had been the outcast of Nibelhiem. All of the other kids had picked on him. Tifa winced when she realized that she had almost never stuck up for him. She was the popular girl, but she was sure that if she had told them to stop being mean, they would have. "Is something wrong?" a voice from above her asked. She jumped and looked up quickly. She sighed in relief when she realized who it was.

"Vincent! You scared me to death!" Tifa exclaimed. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"I could not sleep, which, I assume, is the very reason you are not in your tent right now." he answered in a quiet, yet oddly gentle voice.

"Well, you assumed right. I guess I'm a little worried about Aeris." Tifa said as she crossed their campsite to the place where the remnants of the fire they had earlier was. She sat down on a log that Barret had dragged up.

"I suppose it would be slightly out of character for me to say 'don't worry', would it not?" Vincent questioned. He leapt agilely from the tree branch he was sitting onto the ground. He stepped closer to where Tifa was but he did not sit. Tifa smiled slightly.

"Maybe a little, but don't worry I wont tell anyone." Tifa responded. She shook her head. "I was just wondering if he's killed her already or if she is still alive." She unintentionally refused to say Sephiroth's name.

"I do not believe he has killed her. He is likely to try and convince her to join him. I do not believe any of you realize how powerful Aeris has the ability to be. Should she join him, they would be a formidable team." Vincent took a step closer to her but was looking at the sky.

"Aeris would never do that, though! Besides, I'm not trying to be mean but Aeris isn't a very good fighter. I think that we could get her back." Tifa replied, a little angry that Vincent would even suggest such a thing.

"Do not be angry. I only said that is what I think he has her for. Also, she is with a General who taught hundreds of people to fight. I think Aeris could gain knowledge of defending herself." Vincent said, not missing Tifa's anger. Tifa stood up.

"I understand what you're trying to say, I guess. I still don't think Aeris will switch sides. Anyways, I think I might be able to get some sleep now." Tifa walked toward Vincent because her tent was behind him. "Goodnight."

"Sleep well." he said and before she even realized what had happened he was gone.

"You too, Vincent." she whispered into the darkness that surrounded her. She crawled into her tent, laid down, and she slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

=========

The sky was still dark when Cloud got out of his tent, but he could see a faint trace of light in the sky. He stretched his arms above his head. He had slept okay, not great, but okay. He had a strange dream of fighting on the same side as Sephiroth. It was very bizarre. If he could cook, he would have made breakfast, but he didn't want to pull a Sephiroth on their campsite. He glanced at Tifa's tent, which was right next to his. He wondered, for the millionth time, how she felt about him. He loved her and he knew she loved him, but he wasn't sure if it was the way he wanted her to. He had a huge crush on her since they were kids but he never could have acted on those feelings. She was the one that everyone loved, and he was the one everyone loved to make fun of. He had been so weak then. Cloud shook his head as if trying to shake away the past. He thought for a moment and then reached back into the tent. He quickly brought out his sword. Cloud had noticed a hill earlier and he had plans to watch the sunset. Maybe that would clear his head.

He reached it a few minutes later and as he sat down, he set his sword next to him. He watched as they entire sky turned a beautiful pink color. Unfortunately, pink reminded him of Aeris which reminded him of Sephiroth. Cloud hated Sephiroth so much. He had taken everything from him. He was so intent on hating Sephiroth, that he didn't hear anybody walk up behind him. "Pretty, isn't it?" a voice asked. Cloud didn't act surprised to hear Tifa but he was.

"What are you up so early for?" he asked her, watching as she walked up beside him and sat down.

"Could ask you the same thing, couldn't I Cloud?" she asked, smiling sleepily. He smiled. _She's so beautiful_, he thought. "What? Do I have something on my face?" she questioned, touching her face.

"No. I, uh, I was just thinking about how much you've changed since we were kids." he lied.

"Oh." Tifa paused, studying his face for a moment, almost like she could tell he was lying. "Well, come on. Let's get back to camp and I'll make some breakfast." she replied. They got up and walked back and saw that everyone else was still asleep.

"After your done, we'll get everyone up. We leave as soon as everyone's ready."

=========

Vincent saw Tifa and Cloud walk down a hill together. He thought back to their conversation. He knew Aeris was likely to hold out against Sephiroth, but he also knew was Sephiroth was capable of. Vincent found that as he was thinking, his eyes wandered to Tifa. She had started a fire and was preparing to cook breakfast for thegroup. He observed as the rest of their team drifted out to the smells of breakfast. Cid, Barret and Yuffie were the grumpiest and woke up last. Red and Cait (being a robot) were awake easily and quickly. _And I haven't slept at all_, he thought_. I spent the whole night in the shadows. This is how it should be._

====================================

Well, here's Chapter 2! I had this one all written (I wrote part of this story awhile ago) but I had major editing and stuff that needed to be done. Thanks to my first reviewers! -waves at them excitedly- Maybe I should list y'all right here? That little bit with Aeris' memory of her mom has a purpose later on, I wasn't just being random. I promise. I know everyone's fairly OOC but oh well.

Also, I haven't decided whether to make this a Tifa/ Cloud or a Tifa/ Vincent. What do you think? Let me know.

I've got major editing on the next chapter too, but I'll have it up soon. Till next time!

-DotC


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I am now the proud owner of Final Fanatsy!! smiles proudly- -notices scary guys dressed in black with sunglasses and swords converging on her- No, I was just kidding! Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy!!

CHAPTER 3

Sephiroth wondered how the frail creature laying on the ground in front of where he stood could seem so weak, yet possess so much power. He knew she was a powerful magic user. She would have to be to have the ability to be stabbed through the stomach with Masamune and emerge untouched. He could sense her power, as well, coming off of her in waves, and she was completely unconscious of that fact. He lifted her effortlessly into his arms. Aeris had said something about fighting Jenova. Well, that was unlikely since he would never let her fight his mother. He carried her over to his sleeping bag. He wished she didn't have to sleep there but she did not have hers, which was his fault. He snorted as he caught sight of her face, still wet with tears, partially because he loathed it when others showed weakness, and partially because it made him feel funny inside when he saw her sad. Kind of like he wanted to comfort her, or change the world so she wouldn't have to cry anymore. He forced these thoughts from his mind. He stood up and brushed dirt from his black coat. Sephiroth glanced around. These thoughts were confusing him and that always made him angry. He needed to kill something.

=========

Tifa was still smiling. She had been since they had left camp earlier that morning. Yuffie had asked her if she had lost her mind. Tifa had just continued to smile. All she had to do was think about how cute Cloud had looked or how he had smiled at her jokes. The only dull point in her morning had been when she had gone to talk to Vincent, while Cloud was packing his things, and he had just nodded and walked away. Tifa smile fell a little at the memory. She glanced at Vincent out of the corner of her eye. He seemed even more depressed than usual. _I wonder what's wrong_, she thought. _Well, there's only one way for me to find out. I just hope he actually answers this time._ She took a few extra steps to reach him. "Hey," she said to him, carefully studying his face to see his reaction at talking to her. He nodded. "Are you okay? You seem a little more depressed than usual, if that's possi-" Tifa winced when she realized what she had been about to say. He smirked a little and Tifa was vaguely reminded of Sephiroth.

"Go ahead, Tifa say it. More depressed than usual, if that is possible." He replied, sounding surprisingly cold. She creased her brow, wondering why he was so offended when he normally wouldn't show any emotion at the remark she had made.

"Sorry, Vincent. I didn't mean to say that. It just came out and-" Tifa tried to continue but Vincent cut her off.

"Forgive me. I lost my temper." He was asking for forgiveness but his voice was positively frosty. Tifa frowned.

"Vincent, did I do something to make you mad? Because if I did I'm sorry." Vincent let out a short bark of laughter.

"Of course you are. Everyone is." With that, he walked away. Tifa suddenly felt like crying. She frowned_. Oh man_! She thought. _There goes my good mood._

=========

Aeris awoke about four hours later. She found it hard to open her eyes. At first, she was confused as to why. Then she remembered her mental breakdown. She winced and then glanced around. She was surprised to find herself in a sleeping bag that wasn't her own. It was black, and, had to admit, very comfortable. _Where is Sephy_, she thought. When she realized what she had mentally called him, she almost laughed out loud. I _wonder how he'd react if I called him that_, she wondered. She sat up, and saw him sitting one of the edges, with his legs crossed. She stared at him for a minute. _He is really handsome. How come I never noticed that before?_ He suddenly spoke, catching off guard. "Did you sleep well?" Aeris could sense that he didn't really care how she had slept; he just wanted her to know that he wanted her to stop staring. Aeris grinned.

"I slept fine, how 'bout you?" He turned a glared at her at little.

"Feeling better from last night?" he asked in mock concern. Aeris blushed bright red.

"You were supposed to be asleep!" she exclaimed, totally embarrassed. "Sorry about that." she looked down at the sleeping bag, fiddling with the zipper, still feeling embarrassed, but also wanting to explain why she had become such a basket case. She glanced up to see his face as she gave her explanation. He looked startled, but quickly covered it.

"Uh, don't worry about it. Come on, we have to get a move on if we want to make it to the bottom today." Aeris nodded, a little relieved that he didn't ask for any reasons. She climbed out of the bag and started to roll it up, but he waved her off as he walked over. "I got it." She nodded again, and the young Cetra suddenly wanted to hug him. The _last person I'll ever see had to be him, Mr. Untouchable. I wish I could see Could, Tifa and everyone else before I.....die. I don't wanna die_! She frowned as they started their journey to the bottom of the crater. _Maybe I should just give him a big hug, she contemplated. I mean, what's he going to do? Kill me_? She almost did walk forward, but she stopped herself. _I guess I will just have to be alone, again. It should be easy; I have had a lifetime of practice, after all. _

"Sephiroth? I know this is kind of personal for me to ask, but I have to know." Aeris waited to hear some kind of response. He sighed loudly.

"What is it, Cetra?" he managed to sound completely threatening and annoyed at the same time, and almost blew Aeris' courage, but she continued.

"Um....h-have you ever felt like you were all alone? I mean, not just like alone in a room, but totally, completely alone. Like, no one could ever know what you feel and no one would care even if they did?" she paused as memories from her childhood flooded her mind, and then rushed on without really giving him a chance to respond, "I have. When I was a kid, all of the other kids my age used to make fun of me, call me a freak. I used to just smile because the Planet would be singing and that always made me happy, but when it stopped, I remembered what they said. I was so alone. I always cried myself to sleep." Aeris had to stop as Sephiroth turned to face her. "I-I'm sorry, I kind of babbled, didn't I? I'll stop now." He looked at her for a long moment.

"Its okay." he replied in a quiet voice. She smiled.

=========

"Thank you for listening," she said. Sephiroth turned back around to continue their walk. His mind was reeling. Aeris had almost perfectly described how he had felt as a child. He wanted to talk to her about it, and if he had been anyone other than himself, he might have. _Maybe we have something in common_, he thought, smirking at the thought of this tiny creature being anything like him.

=========

Yuffie had no idea where they were. She assumed that since she didn't know, that no one else knew either. Her expression slid into a pout. "Guys! I don't wanna walk anymore! I don't even know where we are." she whined. Tifa walked over to her.

"I know it's hard, Yuf, but we have to keep going. If we stop we may never find Aeris." Tifa explained.

"I know, but what if we get to....wherever we're going and she's not there? I mean, we would have wasted all this time trying to find her." Yuffie studied everyone's faces. They did not look happy. Especially Vincent, who stood glaring at her with those way creepy red eyes. "Uhh.....never mind." she said. They stopped looking at her and continued their walk. _Well......that was pointless_, Yuffie thought. _Maybe I'll steal someone's materia. That could be fun_. Suddenly, Vincent was beside her. Yuffie was totally surprised; he hadn't made a single sound as he had stepped up beside her. "Whoa, Vincent! You're not supposed to sneak up on people like that!"

"I apologize," he said formally.

"Forget about it." she hesitated, caught off guard, wondering why he would come to walk beside her when he knew that she would start a conversation. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing in particular. I was just curious as to why you would discourage our search." he replied.

"Why do you care?" she asked defensively.

"Answer my question, Yuffie. Why would you object to their search? I thought you were Aeris' friend."

"I am! But, really, why go all the way to this 'Northern Crater' thingy when we aren't even sure she'll be there?" Yuffie asked, and she had to admit, she was a little proud of herself for sounding so logical.

"That is true, but what if she is there and we don't go and Sephiroth kills her? What then, Yuffie?" Vincent for whatever reason seemed angry.

"Geez! Chill Vincent! I'm gonna go talk to Tifa now.....calm down, okay?" She walked away. _Oh my gawd! He totally freaked! I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. Okay, breathe Yuffie, it's all over_. She reached Tifa and said, "You will never believe what just happened to me!"

=========

Cloud walked quickly, even more so than before. He could feel Sephiroth's presence growing stronger. He knew he was nearby. _Of course, I'd be able to reach him faster if everyone would walk faster_, Cloud thought. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that everyone had fallen behind, even Vincent although Cloud suspected that he was in the very back on purpose, not because he was tired. Even Yuffie had eventually stopped talking, to concentrate on breathing. Cloud knew he should give them a break, but he couldn't stop now, not when he knew that he was so close. They had been climbing up mountain sides for days and had collapsed once. If it weren't for a man named Holzoff they might have died when they collapsed from the cold. Luckily, he had come and taken them to his home, on the base of the mountain. Out of nowhere, a tall, snow-covered mountain side rose in front of them. Yuffie groaned loudly and said, "Does it ever end?"

"Alright, we will take a very short break before we climb again." Cloud said. They all remained standing, not wanting to sit in the snow. A few short moments later, Cloud started forward to climb. Everyone followed.

They made it to the top in about thirty minutes. At the top, AVALANCHE saw a deep crater with bright green energy shooting straight up into the air out of the massive hole in the Planet's surface. Cloud looked around, before he guided the group further a few feet further down into the crater. They stopped. Cloud said, "An old crater... Something fell out of the sky and crashed down here...... Leaving a scar on the planet." Everyone looked slightly confused.

"So all this energy's gathered here for the planet to heal itself?" Barret asked.

"Sephiroth took that energy and is trying to use Meteor. Next time the wound won't be so small," Cloud replied. There was silence for a moment and Cloud said, "Okay, Cid, Red, you guys come with me." Suddenly, Tifa stepped forward.

"Cloud, wait for me!! Please take me with you. Your going to have it out with Sephiroth, aren't you? Because of Sephiroth, I, too, have lost many things, so please take me along. Don't say no, okay?" Cloud nodded at her.

"It can't be helped. Red, stay with the others." Red nodded and walked to stand next to the rest of the team. "Okay, everyone, be careful." He turned to Tifa and Cid, and said, "Let's mosey!" Cid rolled his eyes but they both followed him down into the crater.They had been walking for a while, getting into fairly regular fights, that they had won without too much trouble, when they saw a red materia orb. Cloud jumped over onto the rock that it was on and picked it. He turned and handed it to Tifa. She smiled her 'thank you' smile. Cloud turned back around and was about to start forward when he caught sight of something in the sky. He studied for a moment before recognizing it. "That's.........!"

=========

Rufus smiled. "So, I've finally found you," he whispered. The Promised Land. He had been searching for years, and here it was, right in front of him. He walked forward a few steps to stand at the very front of his airship, the Highwind.

"Kyaa ha haaa! Kya ha ha ha ha ha......ha!! This is incredible!" Scarlet said, with her trademark annoying laugh. As usual, Rufus felt like hitting the aggravating blonde, but he didn't.

"This is the Promised Land the President has been searching for!!" Heidegger exclaimed, referring to the now deceased ex-president of the company. Rufus' smile grew wider.

"But, I'll be the one who gets it. Sorry, old man." Rufus, the young president of Shin-ra Inc., studied the terrain. He heard Hojo laughing, and turned to see what was so funny.

"Heh heh heh......that land is no one's. It is where the reunion will take place......they will all gather here........I wonder if we'll see......Sephiroth?" Rufus raised an eyebrow, before deciding to ignore the mad scientist. The president turned back around and smiled again. _You're all mine!_

====================================

Well, there's chapter three for you! I wasn't very happy with the way this one turned out, it was too much just like the game. I wanted to really have some changes and go thru what everyone was thinking...Maybe I'll change it later.

Thanks so much to all my reviewers! You're my heroes! lots of love to reviewers I'll say something to everyone who's reviewed so far, b/c I want to show my appreciation!

Aniiksa- thanks so much for the offer, I would love if you would do that for me. You'll just have to tell me what to do b/c I've never done this before.

Noacat- I'm glad you like it so far, I hope that the rest of the story will keep you interested -knocks on wood-

Ardwynna Morrigu- These chapters are a bit longer, are they still okay? If not I'll try to mke them shorter next time!

Black Malva- Thanks! I have updated twice, hope you like!

Hallowed Shame- My first reviewer ever...-tearful- Thank you so much! I'm glad my first review was a good one!

Sorry for the long, pointless comments at the end of this chapter! See you next time!

DotC


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Tifa followed closely behind Cloud. She was terrified. She really wanted to get revenge on Sephiroth for destroying her home and killing her father. However, she had to admit, she had only begged to come with Cloud so she could make sure he stayed safe. She glanced around for the millionth time that second. _No sign of Sephiroth_, she thought. _Part of me wishes he would hurry up and show, and the other part hopes he stays away,_ she realized. Cid, Cloud, and herself had been walking for about two hours. A long pathway made of stone allowed them to walk. The small group had passed at least thirty people in black cloaks with number tattoos. The strange thing was, as Cloud's group walked up to talk to them, a few of them simply disappeared. A few moments later, Tifa saw a spot where they could rest. Before they could make it there however, a figure dressed in black floated down a few steps ahead of two of the black-cloaked men. Sephiroth said, "This is the end....for all of you."

-----------

Aeris' vision blurred a little, and she stumbled slightly. She quickly regained her footing, but she was confused. What was going on? That had been happening for awhile, at least two hours. Once again, she reached out her mind to see if it was the Planet, but, as she had the past three times, received no indication that the Planet was in trouble. _Maybe I didn't get enough sleep,_ she mused. "What's wrong, Cetra?" Sephiroth asked. He sounded testy, and Aeris wished he would be nice to her again.

"Huh?" she replied, not sure how he knew she was a little unsteady. He was in front of her with no way of seeing her be a klutz.

"That's the fifth time you've almost bumped into me in a half hour." he explained, still sounding grouchy.

"Yeah..." she replied. "It is."

"So, what's wrong?" He sounded like he wished he had never brought it up.

"Nothing." Her vision blurred really badly. She stopped, blinked, and then rubbed her eyes. A vision was suddenly before her. She saw Cloud, Tifa, and Cid standing somewhere. A rocky somewhere. There were weird people in black and......Aeris gasped. Sephiroth was standing, or, rather, floating, before the three members of AVALANCHE saying something that Aeris couldn't hear. Without warning, the vision was gone and the only person the young Cetra saw was Sephiroth. He was looking at her, confused, but, unlike every other person she had these visions in front of, not like she was weird. She fell down, flat on her butt. "Ow..." she said, without even thinking about it.

"What happened?" he asked as he knelt down beside her. She looked at him.

"How were you there? Aren't you here?" Aeris questioned.

"What are you talking about? Of course I am here." Sephiroth replied. He stared at her, as if trying to read her mind.

"You were there. With Cloud, and Tifa, and Cid. You were talking and there were these weird guys dressed in black cloaks or something. Except it wasn't you. I mean, it looked like you, but it wasn't. He was different. His spirit energy. And-" Aeris tried to explain but Sephiroth cut her off.

"How do you know all of that?' he asked, his voice sounding harsh,

"A vision, I think. Oh, my gosh! Cloud and the others are about to fight a clone of you, aren't they? Is he as powerful as you? He is, isn't he? Oh, no! They're not ready! I have to help them!" Aeris talked quickly and tried to think of a way to escape, and be able to reach wherever her friends were quickly. An idea occurred to her. She stood up quickly. "You have to take me to them! Please!" He laughed.

"Now, why would I do that? The puppet made it to the Reunion, so I don't care what happens to them." He smirked at her incredulous expression.

"Don't you care about anything besides death?" she asked.

"No." he answered without hesitation.

"I do! And if you don't help save them, then I'll do it by myself." She closed her eyes and focused on her desire to help her friends. She felt the energy flow through her body and the words of her people flooded into her mind. "Ekat em ereht!"

-----------

Sephiroth stared in awe at the girl before him. She had a green light surrounding her and was floating slightly in the air. Her hair danced around, as if there was a powerful wind. _Maybe she does know of her power?_ She opened her eyes, slowly, and stared at him. No, not at him, but through him. Suddenly, she was gone, disappeared. He frowned. _I should have stopped her_, he berated himself. He couldn't worry about that now. He focused his thoughts but it came naturally to him now. He teleported.

-----------

It seemed as if they were miles and miles above the Planet. Cloud watched as Sephiroth swung his sword down on the two men in the cloaks, somehow managing to hit them both in one swung. The cloaked people fell off the edge of the narrow walkway. He watched as one bounced off of a stone outcropping before continuing his descent into the mysterious green mist below. "Sephiroth!!" Cloud called out. Cloud barely noticed Tifa, and Cid following him as he ran forward to confront his worst enemy. To the young mercenary's disappointment, Sephiroth did not turn around.

"This is the end!!" Cid exclaimed. Sephiroth nodded in agreement.

"You're right. This is the end of this body's usefulness." The area went dark and Sephiroth disappeared, leaving nothing except for a stream of purple smoke. Cloud's heart began to pound loudly.

"He disappeared?!" he said, angry.

"He might still be nearby....." Tifa said and Cloud realized she was right. Everyone began to look around. Cloud sighed. No sign of him. Another plume of smoke popped up, without warning. 'Our purpose is to deliver the Black Materia to our Master.' He looked around again, his blonde spikes swinging around.

"Our...?" Cloud asked, confused.

"Hey, hey! What's goin' on?" Cid wondered aloud. Another smoke plume, again out of nowhere. 'Those who carry Jenova's cells......' Cloud realized what had been said earlier and he reacted.

"Master?!" Another smoke plume and Cloud was getting angry, and scared, and a lot of other emotions he couldn't identify. 'Of course....Sephiroth', the voice said. Cloud's heart began to pound faster than before. 'Heh, heh, heh....' Cloud's heart began to beat still faster and, somehow, louder. He couldn't take it. He dropped to his knees. The light came back and Cloud stood. There he was, Sephiroth, floating above them, his sword drawn. He descended quickly, knocking the three members of AVALANCHE down. Cloud stood slowly. Sephiroth turned to face him, his sword ready. The battle began.

-----------

Tifa stared at the large creature before her. Another form of Jenova, no doubt. "Jenova-DEATH!" Cid said, and Tifa nodded. Cloud struck first and the Jenova retaliated with something called Red Light. Tifa used her Comet materia. It hit the creepy thing and it did a nice amount of damage. Jenova quickly cast Silence and while Tifa was scrounging for an Echo Screen, Jenova shot double beams of Red light at her. Cid threw a Fire Armlet to her after she had cured herself. She quickly equipped it, and, after curing herself of Silence, began to really battle. Cid took up the healing position and Tifa and Cloud didn't hold back. Cloud continually attacked physically, but Tifa stuck mostly to magic. Getting into a pattern that consisted of everyone attacking whenever they could and curing when needed, they managed to defeat her. Once everyone made sure the rest of their group were okay, they left to meet up with the others.

-----------

Aeris traveled quickly, flying through the air. She was going at a speed at which she thought she could reach the others in a short while. The Cetra had never been able to do that before. She didn't know where those words or the power to teleport, or fly, or whatever, came from. She felt like she needed to go faster, though, because it was a known fact that Sephiroth could do all kinds of magic that others could not do. Aeris was afraid that he could get to her before she reached the others. _Go faster!_ She tried to make herself go faster by the thought but it didn't work_. I have to get to them_!

-----------

Cloud stared at the black mass that had appeared after Jenova had died. "Jenova cells.....hmm. So that's what this is all about. The Jenova Reunion." Cloud figured it out aloud.

"Not Sephiroth?! You mean all this time it wasn't Sephiroth we were after?" Tifa asked, obviously a little confused. Cloud shook his head.

""I'll explain later. Right now, the only thing I'm thinking about is beating Sephiroth." Cloud replied. Tifa nodded but then looked confused again.

"But Sephiroth is..." She said but Cloud cut her off before she could continue, knowing, somehow, that they didn't have much time.

"He's here. The real Sephiroth is just beyond here." Cloud said, and, though that was enough for his team, he continued, "It's both incredibly wicked and cruel....but it's releasing a powerfully strong will from deep within the Planet's wound." Cloud didn't look at anyone's reaction. He walked over to the black mass. The Black Materia. He turned to face the members of AVALANCHE excluding Aeris and spoke, "...The Black Materia is back in our hands. Now all we have to do is defeat Sephiroth and that'll be the end of it." _Easier said then done, no doubt about that_, he thought, but Cloud kept that to himself.

-----------

Red watched as Tifa walked a little closer to Cloud and said, "We better not take the Black Materia any farther. Why don't you give it to someone else to hold on to?" Cloud considered the group assembled before him. He advanced to Red. The young beast looked taken aback.

"You want me to take the Black Materia?" He asked. Cloud nodded. "Alright, I understand." Cloud gave him an absentminded smile.

"Don't give it to ANYONE. I'm counting on you." Cloud walked back over to Tifa. She nodded at him.

"Let's go find Sephiroth!" she exclaimed, and Red could see that she was as a minimum, somewhat tense. The leader of AVALANCHE turned to face his team.

"We're going in first! You guys stay and keep watch." Red and the others nodded. Cloud, Cid, and Tifa walked away.

"Good luck," Red whispered.

-----------

Tifa ran across the bridge, now that the winds were calm and the lightning gone, no matter how briefly. The men of the small group had already crossed. "You okay?" Cloud asked. She nodded and managed a small smile. They continued. Only a few short minutes later, there was a bright flash of light. Tifa closed her eyes, against the sharp sting the light gave.

"What is this? What happened?" she asked, panicking and wanting reassurance.

"Calm down, Tifa. Sephiroth is near. Anything could happen." Tifa nodded and did calm down a little. The white light died down. She opened her eyes to see the gates of Nibelheim.

"Nibelheim...." Tifa said, wanting to cry. This was her hometown and some of the happiest moments of her life had happened here. She had met Cloud here! However, this was also the place of the saddest things in her life_. Don't think about that now, Tifa. You have to worry about saving Aeris, and the rest of the world_.

"What the-?! Why Nibelheim?!" Cid asked in a loud voice. Cloud shook his head sadly.

"This is just an illusion Sephiroth made up. He's trying to confuse us. It'll be alright. As long as we know it's an illusion, there's nothing to be afraid of." It sounded to Tifa like he was trying to convince himself. He nodded. "Come on, let's keep going."

"Yeah, you're right...." Tifa hesitantly agreed. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see what it was. She pointed and gasped, "Look!" They group turned to look at what she was pointing at. Seeing people, they scattered to make room for them to get by. Sephiroth made a quick appearance, at the town gates. He looked kind of like he was talking for a minute but nobody could hear what he was saying.

"Alright, let's go." Sephiroth turned and headed into town. He was followed by two Shin-ra guards, dressed in the standard blue uniform. Next, where young Cloud should have been, there came a man who looked a lot like him, except he had black hair. He was dressed in a purple SOLDIER uniform and had a huge sword strapped to his back.

"Cloud's not here......" Cid acknowledged and Tifa wasn't sure if he was making a statement or asking a question. She shook her head.

"Stop....Sephiroth." She looked to Cloud to see his reaction to the scene playing out before them. He appeared to be unaffected. He must have noticed her staring because he shrugged.

"This is so stupid....." he said. Tifa wasn't sure if he meant it. She had known Cloud for an extremely long time and she knew him better than anyone, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Suddenly, Sephiroth began to laugh. He covered his mouth as he laughed, when he, the two Shin-ra guards, and the mysterious young man disappeared. Cid looked at Cloud.

"Hey, Cloud. Let's get back to the real world, huh." he said, and Tifa couldn't have agreed more. Tifa looked at Cloud again, and noticed him looking confused.

"Cloud......it's just an illusion. Don't worry about it." He must have realized, then, that he had his emotions written out on his face. Expressionless, he nodded. There was, without warning, another bright flash of white light. Wind rushed by and tossed Tifa's long hair around.

"What's....next?" she heard Cloud whisper. Tifa couldn't stand for Cloud to find out the truth about his past this way.

"Stop it already!" she screamed, hoping Sephiroth could hear her voice.

"This is terrible..." Cid said, sounding unlike his usual self. The light finally faded away, revealing that they were in fact still in Nibelheim. The difference was all of the buildings burning, the town was aflame.

"....This is what actually happened five years ago. But.....it's probably not me that's going to come out of the Shin-ra mansion. He's going to try and show us another stupid illusion." Cloud said. Tifa studied him. This time she could tell he was searching his memories for any clue as to what was going to happen next. The door of the mansion flew open, and the black-haired man that was with Sephiroth earlier, ran out. "See?" he asked, "didn't I tell you?" He sounded a little surer of himself now. The black-haired man walked slowly down into the town, his sword drawn and ready for battle. Tifa suddenly noticed Zangan, the person who had taught her everything she knew about martial arts, standing out side of the inn. He was helping some people who were hurt.

"Hey! It's you! You're still sane, right?" he shouted up at the person who should have been Cloud. The man nodded. "Then come over here and help me!" Tifa's old martial arts trainer demanded. Tifa felt like sobbing. It was all so sad.

"I don't want to...watch this. Cloud, don't watch." Tifa said wishing for it all to go away. The black-haired man turned slowly, looking at all of the burning houses. He shook his head sadly, like Cloud did whenever everything felt hopeless.

"I'll check this house. You check that one over there." Zangan instructed the man, before running into the house he was going to look in. Tifa noticed that the man had been told to go into Cloud's old home.

".....What's wrong, Tifa? I told you before, right? As long as we know that it's just an illusion, there's no need to be scared." Tifa wasn't positive that the reassurance was meant for her. The white light came again, and Tifa shut her eyes once more. The light quickly faded though and the group was standing amidst the flames. Cid saw one of the downed people and walked over to them.

"He.. hey you! You alright!?" he asked. He got no response, and turned to face Tifa and Cloud. "This was all made up!!"

"Sephiroth! I know you're listening! I know what you're trying to say!" Cloud suddenly shouted. He shook his head. "That I wasn't in Nibelheim five years ago. That's it, isn't it?" Another flash of white, the sounding of a bell was all it took for Sephiroth to appear before them. He looked around briefly, and looked very slightly surprised, but it was gone before Tifa could be sure it was even there.

"I see you finally understand." Sephiroth said to Cloud.

"What you're trying to say is that you want to confuse me, right?" Cloud asked. He nodded. "But....even making me see all those things won't affect me. I remember it all. The heat of the fire...the pain in my body.....and in my heart!" Cloud looked sad for a minute. He must have been visiting the past. He quickly brought himself back, though. Sephiroth shook his head, his silver hair catching the light of the fire, reminding Tifa of the actual fire five years ago.

"Is that so? You're just a puppet.....you have no heart....can't feel any pain...." He looked up at Cloud. "How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being?" Sephiroth asked. "What I have shown is the reality. What you remember, that is the illusion." Cloud shrugged. To Tifa's surprise, Cloud walked right up to Sephiroth. "...Do you understand?" the ex-General asked.

"I don't want to understand." Cloud answered, turning away from his enemy. "But, I want to ask you one thing. Why....why are you doing this?" He sounded unsure that he wanted to know the answer. Another flash of white, so brief that Tifa didn't bother closing her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sephiroth standing in between Cid and herself, arms raised in the air. She muffled a gasp. Tifa ran to Cloud's side. She noticed that Cid had done the same.

"Ha, ha, ha....." Sephiroth laughed, and Tifa wasn't sure if he was laughing at Cloud's confusion or at Tifa and Cid's run to Cloud's sides. "I want to take you back to your true self. The one who gave me the Black Materia that day...." He paused briefly, and then smirked. "Who would have ever thought a failed experiment could prove so useful? Hojo would die if he knew." He laughed again. Tifa checked Cloud's expression. He looked angry. The mercenary stepped forward.

"Hojo?! What does he have to do with me?!" Sephiroth lowered his arms. He looked at Cloud like the answer should be obvious.

"Five years ago you by Hojo, piece by piece, right after Nibelheim was burnt." Sephiroth explained. Tifa was completely surprised. She had known that it wasn't Cloud who came to Nibelheim, but she did know that she had grown up with him. "A puppet made up of vibrant Jenova cells, her knowledge, and the power of Mako. An incomplete Sephiroth-clone. Not even given a number. ......That is your reality." Sephiroth sounded so sure of himself that Tifa began to panic. Were her memories all lies? Cloud just shrugged.

"Cloud....Don't listen to him....Close your ears! Close your eyes!" she exclaimed, trying to calm herself down. He gave her a funny look.

"What's wrong, Tifa? I'm not affected by it." He looked at her. "...I wasn't paying attention." Tifa shook her head. She could tell he was lying about paying attention to him.

"All that talk of Hojo constructing you is a lie." She thought back to her childhood. "Don't we have our memories together? Being kids together, starlit nights..." _Your promise_, she added mentally. Sephiroth tilted his head toward her, and smiled.

"Ha, ha, ha.....Tifa...Why are you so scared by those words?" Tifa stared at Sephiroth. Her childhood played through her mind like a movie. It was so confusing. Could she trust her memories? "Hmm...shall I show everyone here what's in your heart?" Tifa turned away. _I know I am right....I think....What do I do?_ "Ha ha ha... You look like your not feeling well." Sephiroth disappeared.

"...Tifa? Is Sephiroth right?" Cloud asked, sounding like a lost child. Tifa fought back tears. She couldn't answer for a long time.

"Cloud..." Tifa said weakly. _Be strong, Tifa_! She told herself.

"Why are you so scared? Don't worry about me. I'm all right. No matter how confused I am, I'll never believe a word that Sephiroth says." He looked at the ground. "It's true that sometimes I can't figure out who I am. There are a lot of things muddled up in my memories. But, Tifa......." He paused, probably to collect his thoughts. "But you said, 'Long time no see, Cloud' right? Those words will always support me. I am the one you grew up with. I'm Cloud of Nibelheim. No matter how much I lose faith in myself, that is the truth." Tifa could feel his eyes on her back. "That's why you shouldn't be so scared. No matter what anyone else says to me, it's your attitude that counts..." Cloud actually sounded slightly hopeful. Tifa felt horrible. She had let him go on believing the lie he had made his life, yet here he was saying she was all that mattered. She turned to face him, and it was her turn to stare at his back. She shook her head.

"No, that's not true, Cloud...." she said. _Time for the truth, if I can get it out_, she thought. He shook his head slowly. Turning back to face her he asked a simple question. One she didn't have an answer for.

"Why not? Aren't I the same Cloud you grew up with?" She closed her eyes.

"That's not what I meant...I don't know how to say it." _I can't do it now! Not with other people watching_! "Cloud, I need some time... Just give me a little time." _I'm so sorry, Cloud! I don't know if your ready to hear it, and I know I'm not ready to say it_. There was another bright flash of white that Tifa barely noticed. She was so lost in her thoughts she scarcely heard Sephiroth's next words.

"Cloud... Don't blame Tifa. The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words, is the power of Jenova. Inside of you, Jenova has merged with Tifa's memories, creating you. Out of Tifa's memory... A boy named Cloud might've just been a part of them." _That's right! A boy named Cloud Strife was part of my memories. We weren't too close, until now. Here he stands right next to me! He is the Cloud I grew up with, I know it_! The white light came again and it seemed to confuse her some.

"Cloud..." Tifa started, not sure what she was going to say. "Please...don't think right now." Another flare of light and Sephiroth was behind them.

"Ha, ha, ha...Think Cloud!" he paused. "...Cloud? Ha, ha, ha....Oh, excuse me. You never had a name." Tifa's anger rose. Why did Sephiroth have to be so mean? Cloud shook his head.

"Shut up....Sephiroth." Cloud demanded. Sephiroth mimicked Cloud's head shaking.

"You still don't understand? Then..." He turned away from the group and began to laugh. It was almost identical to the laugh he had done when he'd first arrived at Nibelheim. He finally stopped, and after making an indifferent motion, turned to face Cloud. "Do you remember the picture that we took before we headed for Mt. Nibel?" he asked. He turned his glowing green eyes on Tifa. "You remember, right?" He, mercifully, looked away from Tifa. Raising his arms, almost like he was happy, he said, "But there is no way he would know." Sephiroth shook his head, again, and Cloud shrugged, like he didn't care but Tifa knew he did. "Now...what happened to that picture?" He glanced all around; although Tifa was sure he knew right where it was. He walked over to a man who was lying, probably dead, in front of Gramp's Inn. Tifa recognized the man as the photographer. Her eyes widened. "....is this it?" he asked. Tifa's eyes welled up. She hadn't even realized how many people had actually died in that fire. When she opened her eyes, Sephiroth was looking at Cloud and saying, "...Do you want to see it? It turned out pretty good." More shock. _Don't you show him that, you psycho_! She mentally yelled at the silver haired man.

"Cloud...don't..." Tifa pleaded, and even to her ears, she sounded weak. Cloud looked at her and nodded.

"I...should be in the picture." His face was uncertain, but it quickly cleared. "Even if I'm not in there, no worry. This is just an illusionary world Sephiroth made up." He walked over and looked. After a brief pause, he said, "Just as I thought." She knew that Cloud wasn't in the picture, but she mentally begged Sephiroth, _please leave him alone....haven't you caused him enough grief_? Cloud nodded again. "This picture's a fake. The truth is in my memory. ...Five years ago, I came back to Nibelheim, to inspect the reactor. I was sixteen. The town hadn't changed at all. What did I do...?" He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah..." He moved his head up and down, "Yeah, I went to Tifa's room. There, I......" He had to think again. "I played the piano! I looked in the drawers!" He described his visit to Tifa's home. "I spent the night and went to the reactor in Mt. Nibel. I was excited about it. Because that was my first mission after becoming First Class in SOLDIER." He sounded as if he didn't doubt his memories for a second. Unfortunately, the white flare of light came again, bringing with it confusion, and taking Sephiroth. Cloud shook his head. "...SOLDIER, first class?" Tifa was speechless, as Cloud shook his head, hard. "...SOLDIER? When did I enter SOLDIER?" He grabbed his head, his blonde spikes falling through his fingers. Tifa noticed him shaking. "How did I join SOLDIER?" He fell down, and Tifa wanted to run to his side, but something stopped her. "Why...why can't I remember?" He lifted himself to one knee, a little unsteadily. "I'm...I'm..." He stood all of the way up, perfectly balanced. "That's right..." He nodded again. "...I didn't have to worry about it, because I was..." Instead of white, the entire area faded to a deep, dark black. There was silence.

"........Cloud?" Tifa said, uncertain of his current mental state.

"Let's go, Tifa. I'm....I'm alright."

-------------------------------------------------------

Oh, a bit of a cliffhanger! I'm fairly pleased with how this chapter ended, anyway. Other than that, I think it could still use some work.(I'll probably say that about all of my story) It might be a while before I update again, I'm swamped with school and work. (I think maybe I took too many hard classes....oh well....) Now, my ode to my new reviewers!

**Ryuuchi Shosen**- Thanks for your support! I'll wite more ASAP!

**Noacat**- One of my most dedicated reviewers! Thanks! I'm trying to put some humor into this story while keeping the cvharacters more or less in character. I'm gonna try to add more of that in soon.

**Hollowed Shame**- Another good reviewer! Thank you very much for reading this story!

**Trance**- Thanks! I'll try to update as often as possible, but like I said earlier, it's gonna get harder and harder....I'll try my best though

**Ardwynna Morrigu**- Thank you! My other most dedicated reviewer! I really appreciate you guys!

**Black Garnet**- I dont want to fight so here's a new chapter! Hope you like it, and thanks for the great review!

See you guys as soon as I get a chance!

DotC

PS: Those words that Aeris said are just real words backwards. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to make a new language for the Cetra. Good enough for now, I suppose


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Aeris walked around aimlessly, not sure where she was. She had arrived on this giant mountain not long ago. She knew that Cloud was around here somewhere, she had seen pieces of Jenova not long ago. Now she just had to find where they went. Suddenly, she heard voices. They were coming from a large cavern not too far away. She stepped into it just as Cloud said, "I'm really sorry." Aeris looked around and saw Tifa, Cid, Red XIII, Rufus, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Hojo. Aeris saw Cloud, facing Tifa and talking. "You've been so good to me...I don't know what to say..." He shook his head and Aeris took a step forward. She had to stop him before he gave the Black Materia to Sephiroth, but she wanted to hear what he had to say. "I never lived up to being 'Cloud'," he dropped his head down and Aeris felt tears rising in her eyes. "Tifa... Maybe one day you'll meet the real 'Cloud'." He walked away from Tifa and looked at Hojo, but Aeris kept her eyes on Tifa. She covered her face with her hands and sank to the ground, sobbing. Aeris ran to Tifa's side and suddenly she was noticed.

"Aeris?! What the-" Cid started to say but he cut himself short. Aeris helped Tifa stand up.

"Sephiroth can't be far behind me. We have to hurry up and leave!" She stopped and walked over to Cloud. "Cloud? Can you hear me? We have to go, now!" He just stared at her. He suddenly floated into the air and hovered there, looking around. Then looking remarkably like Sephiroth in the Forgotten Capital, he spun around and shot into the tree-like structure at the top of the room. A bright flash of white light caused everyone to close their eyes.

"Who... was that?" Rufus asked. Aeris looked at Tifa. She still had tear-stains on her cheeks. Aeris ignored Rufus and Hojo's conversation and put her hand on Tifa's shoulder.

"I'll get him back, Tifa." Aeris promised, hoping she could keep her word. Aeris looked up and saw that Cloud was sitting on the tree at the top. Aeris closed her eyes. _What am I supposed to do? Calm down, Aeris, it'll be okay_. A nagging voice in the back of her mind said, _no, Aeris, it wont be okay. If you don't hurry up and get him back then the Planet will very likely die. Sephiroth will have the means to summon Meteor_. Aeris felt weak. She had used much of her powers to get herself here, and knew she didn't have much juice left. Doing a strong spell now could be very dangerous. _I don't care, I have no other option_. Just like before she somehow knew instinctively what to do. She floated herself up to Cloud just as he called for Sephiroth to show himself. Aeris placed herself between Cloud and the glowing stone Cloud had been trying to reach. "Cloud, stop," she said, in a quiet yet commanding voice.

"Get out of my way, Aeris." he said. She shook her head.

"I can't let you do this, Cloud! Please, just stop!" she begged.

"Move!" he yelled and Aeris knew that Sephiroth had almost complete control now. She had to act before it was too late.

"Aeris, be careful!" Tifa yelled up to her. Cloud dove at her, and Aeris let him hit her and she grabbed the sides of his face before he could fully push her out of the way. She looked into his eyes and could see very little of Cloud left in those blue eyes. She spoke.

"Reah ym eciov, emoc kcab ot eht tghil..." He stopped moving and Aeris went into his mind.

_What do I do now? I have to find Cloud, the 'real' and bring him back... but how do I do that? Focus, Aeris_. "Cloud_?" Aeris called, doubting that he would reply. She looked around. She saw him sitting in front of a town_. "Nibelheim?" _She started to walk over to him but then saw another Cloud sitting on stairs that led to a window. She looked behind her and saw him sitting in front of a well. A fourth Cloud was floating around in the sky. She sighed and decided to start with Nibelheim since she knew the story. She walked over to him. She now noticed that the gates that led into the town were faded like they were from a memory that was only partially remembered._

"The gates of Nibelheim... Five years ago, Sephiroth passed through these gates... And that's how it all started." _Cloud said, emotionlessly. Aeris nodded and followed Cloud into the small town_.

"Look, Cloud! Everything is like it was when we passed through it! So, if this is the Nibelheim you remember, then this is the real Nibelheim." _Aeris told him, but she honestly thought that Cloud didn't hear her_. "Cloud? Can you tell me the story again? About the fire and Sephiroth?" _Cloud blinked away and appeared next to her. She saw Sephiroth walk into the gates, and she felt an explained excitement jolt through her. Before she could fully contemplate it, she heard his deep voice speak._

"So, how does it feel?" _There was a pause and no one answered_. "It's your first time back in your hometown in a long time right? So, how does it feel? I wouldn't know because I don't have a hometown_..." Sephiroth stopped and looked at the ground_.

"Umm... How 'bout your parents?" _This time it was Cloud's voice that spoke up_.

"My mother was Jenova. She died right after she gave birth to me. My father..." _he stopped and laughed putting his hands in front of his face_. "What does it matter? Alright, let's go." _He turned and walked in to town, and while Cloud's gaze shifted to the back where he knew he would step into town briefly, Aeris kept her eyes on Sephiroth's face and noted the look of pain the flashed quickly across his face. She turned her attention to where Cloud and the others would step in. He walked in, cockily, with two soldiers flanking him. Just as Cloud went over to meld with the memory Cloud, Aeris had a flash. Cloud's hair turned from chocobo yellow, to jet black. His eyes went from blue to brown, and Aeris recognized him as Zack. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand._

"No... Cloud, something's wrong here..." _Aeris could feel it, something didn't feel right. Cloud's story was false?_ _Who would know?...Tifa!_ "Cloud, I'm going to leave, but please don't leave this memory! I'm going to bring Tifa here and she can help you regain yourself." _Aeris walked out of the town and stepped to the place where she had arrived_. "Umm... what do I do now?" _Aeris paused and then said_, "Can I leave?" _There was silence. She sighed_. "Hello? Please! I have to leave if I wanna help Cloud!" _No answer again. Aeris was tired of waiting. Cloud couldn't stay there forever_! "Hey! I don't who is listening but you let me out of Cloud's head, NOW!" _It was not quite what she was used to acting like, but it provided the right results._

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at Cloud's face. _Hey, cool_! She thought, before her attention was diverted to the scene below her. Tifa, Cid, Red, Rufus, Scarlet, and Heidggar were facing Sephiroth. Hojo was the only one who stood off to the side, in a not threatening way. All of the others (excluding Sephiroth and Hojo) had their weapons pulled out and ready. She heard Sephiroth say, "What is going on with the Cetra and my puppet?" Aeris might have smiled at any other point but now she was too surprised to see him to react.

"I thought I asked you not to call me 'Cetra,'" Aeris said, making her body float down. He looked up at her and gave her his evil 'I'm-really-scary-so-fear-me' smirk. She felt no fear, which was strange for her.

"What happened, Cetra," he said, trying to make her angry, she could tell, "I thought we were really bonding, and then you just left me! I have got to say, that hurts..." He let out a maniacal laugh. Aeris frowned. She had thought that she had gained a little bit of Sephiroth knowledge, but here he was, back to his old self. Aeris shook her head, and suddenly remembered Cloud.

"Tifa! You have to help Cloud! I got in his mind, but something was wrong...his past is not like he told us; I think someone needs to help him find it. So, if anyone should know, I figured it would be you. I left him in a catatonic state so you can reach him. But," she said turning to face Sephiroth once more, "I'm starting to think we need to move him." Sephiroth kept his face expressionless.

"Now, what makes you think I'm going to let you walk out of here with the Black Materia? Honestly, Cetra, you would think you have learned something!" Sephiroth scoffed.

"I have learned something." She lifted her hands in the air and let Cloud float to the ground. She lowered her hands, and stared Sephiroth directly in the eye. She could feel everyone staring at her in awe, not used to the idea of "brave" Aeris. "I've learned that some people will believe anything they are told to feel loved. I've learned that I am not alone. I've also learned that you and I are not so different, Sephiroth." She took several steps closer to him, standing about two feet away. She lowered her voice. "I think I beginning to understand. Why you are going along with Jenova, I mean."

"Oh, really? Then tell me, Oh Knowing One." Sephiroth used his usual sarcastic voice but Aeris detected a hint of uncertainty in it. She looked into his unnaturally green eyes, and smiled softly. She took a few more steps forward. They now stood less than a foot apart. "Because she makes you feel like you belong, like you are loved. It makes everything easier, doesn't it? Knowing that someone is there for you. But that's not how it is with her. If you don't do what she wants, then she gets mad and hurts you. That's not love, Sephiroth, and I think some part of you knows that." He stared at her, unblinkingly, and Aeris wondered if he had even been listening to her hushed speech. "Sephiroth?" She tentatively reached a hand out to touch his arm. He looked at her hand on his arm, and then met her eyes. He backed away, and just stood next to the wall. Aeris stared at Sephiroth for a moment and then turned to look at Tifa. "We have to move Cloud, now! Something's coming, I can feel it." Tifa nodded, still looking surprised at Aeris' behavior. Tifa walked over to Cloud and took his hand. His eyes were still empty, but Tifa led him out easily. Cid and Red followed Tifa, and Rufus was trying to take control of the situation, but for the most part was being ignored. Aeris started to follow, but noticed Sephiroth, standing near the wall, still not moving. "Sephiroth, we've got to go." The earth suddenly started to shake, and an eye appeared on the wall behind Sehiroth, blinking. "Sephiroth!! We've got to go!" He lifted his gaze and looked at her but didn't move. She ran to his side, and started to try and pull him, to which he complied. However, it wasn't fast enough and the ceiling began to cave in. Rocks fell on Aeris. She knew she should run, but she was so tired, using all that energy on magic, and being brave. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the rocky roof rushing to meet her.

---------------

"Tifa, we have to take off now." Cid told her. She shook her head, not willing to listen.

"No! We can't take off without Aeris. She came all the way here to save us, and we are gonna do the same for her." Tifa looked off of the bridge once more, willing Aeris to come out of the mountain. Cid turned around and walked inside, she heard him calling out orders. At any other time, she might have smiled. She glanced at Cloud's expressionless face. Suddenly, she felt the Highwind take off from the ground. She gasped and turned to run inside, when Cid burst out of the door. He did not look happy.

"I tried to stop them, but they wouldn't listen." Tifa blocked out the rest off his colorful words and stared at the entrance of the mountain, panicked. Something did emerge. Not Aeris, however unless she had, somehow transformed into a giant monster. Tifa's eyes widened as several massive creatures crawled out of the crater, the same place Aeris still was. One came up and brushed against the airship, throwing it off balance. She struggled to remain standing when a strong arm grabbed her, holding her upright. She looked up at her old friend, Barret, and smiled her thank-you. She looked over to make sure Cloud was still safe, and was surprised to see Hojo studying his face. She jerked Cloud's arm so he would take a few steps away from Hojo and towards her and gave the scientist a glare, before turning away from him.

"Barret, we have to go back! Aeris is still there, with all of those...things!" she exclaimed.

"I know, Tif, but there's nothin' we can do now. We've gotta keep goin'. Aeris is a tough lady. She jus' proved that. We'll go back for her soon." Barret said in a calm voice.

"But, we've come all this way trying to save her! We could lose her right now and it'll all be pointless!" Tifa wanted to help Aeris, but she hated to admit it, because Aeris could help Cloud. Of course, she wanted to help her because she was Aeris, her friend, as well. Tifa looked towards the tiny spec that was the Northern Crater. _Please, be safe Aeris, please_.

---------------

Yuffie was not loving their escape. She had hoped for adventure, danger and materia when she had signed on with AVALANCE. So far, she had received danger and not much else. She leaned over the rail once more, as another wave of airsickness hit her. The only people still on the outside of the airship were herself and Vincent. She glanced over at him whenever she lifted her head. He was facing away from her, his back being most of what she saw. He didn't appear to be paying attention to her but every time she looked over at him, he stiffened. She wondered how he did that. Knew people were there without even looking at them. _That would be a handy skill for me to use when I...'borrow' other people's materia_, Yuffie thought. She considered asking him, but decided he would probably just blow her off. She leaned over the edge once more, and while throwing up, tried to gauge the distance to the ground. She decided that if they didn't land soon, she would definitely have to jump.

---------------

Sephiroth couldn't see anything. He was surrounded by darkness. He thought his eyes were open, but maybe the rocks from the ceiling had knocked him unconscious. He felt a sensation in his body that he had not felt for years...pain. He figured that meant he was awake. Normally, he would have been able to easily leave before the rocks even came close to him. Unfortunately, his shock at the Cetra's words and his reaction to them had rendered him motionless, and once he realized what was happening, he had messed up. He decided shouldn't, no more like wouldn't, leave the Ancient behind, so he tried to save her. However he was not fast enough (he winced at that thought) and couldn't save either of them. He struggled to push through the rocks that covered him. As his hand reached the top, he remembered Aeris. _I hope she is okay...I cannot believe I hope that she is okay_... he thought. His torso was now free from the rocks that contained him. He pushed his sore body upward.

A few short moments later he was free. He searched the top of the rocks for any sign of the girl. A new smell quickly permeated his nostrils. Lifestream... He had to hurry or else, they would be swallowed into the Lifestream. He stretched out his senses, like a net, hoping to feel her presence. He followed his senses to a spot no more than a foot away. He began to dig and quickly located an arm. Strangely enough, he didn't even consider leaving this girl here, in this cave, to die. He pulled her out and heard her moan. He hastily assessed her injuries. There didn't seem to be any major ones, except for a terrible looking cut on her forehead. He gently picked her up in his arms and teleported them out of the cavern.

---------------

Red sat uncomfortably in the front of the Highwind. Hojo was continually staring at him. Without warning, he ambled over to Red. Hojo gave him a sickly smile.

"Hello, how have you been since you escaped from my lab?" Hojo asked. Red didn't say anything, and decided to act as if he didn't hear him. "Well? How would you like to go back?" Red turned to Hojo and growled.

"Hojo, that's not possible. You quit, remember?" Rufus cut in snidely. Hojo turned to look at Rufus and must have decided it was better to go along with him rather than argue.

"We're here, sir." the pilot announced.

"Good." Rufus turned to face the place where Barret, Tifa, Cid and Red were standing, or, in Red's case, laying, and added, "Please allow my guards to show you where you need to be."

"Yo, hang on jus' a second. We never said nothin' 'bout goin' wit you guys. We jus' caught a ride." Barret replied.

"Oh, I see." Rufus answered slowly. "But, don't worry. That won't be much of a problem." Suddenly, Red felt something sharp stick into his left shoulder. He looked around and saw that the others had already collapsed. His vision darkened, and he saw a group of soldiers converge on their unconscious bodies. Red gave into to the darkness and blacked out.

---------------

Vincent stared forward. They had just landed and he and Yuffie were waiting for the others to come out. However, he felt a moment of worry. Something was wrong. He hadn't a clue as to what, but something was definitely wrong. He turned to face the ninja.

"Yuffie. We must leave, now." Vincent told her quietly. Her eyes flashed confusion.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, sounding suspicious.

"I have a feeling that something is not quite right, but we do not have time for me to explain thoroughly. We will leave now, and come back for the others at a later time." He hoped she would just listen. He heard footsteps on the stairs that led to the deck, where he and Yuffie were talking. He didn't have time to wait. He grabbed her in his arms, and leapt off of the edge of the airship. They quickly reached the ground and Vincent put Yuffie down. "Are you alright?" he asked. She stared at him and opened her mouth to say something. However, a ladder dropped down from the airship and cut her off.

"When we're safe again, you realize I'm gonna kill you, right?" Yuffie questioned him as they took off running. Vincent smiled a little.

They reached a place where they could hide for the time being. The twosome had only been there for a short while, when a group of soldiers came marching by. In their arms were the unconscious bodies of all their friends. Vincent's eyes sharpened on Tifa. She was limp. It took all of his self-control to keep from going to her. When the soldiers were out of earshot, Vincent turned to Yuffie and said, "We have to save them." He paused, and glanced at the heavy security. "We need a plan." Yuffie grinned.

"Duh. ...Do you have any ideas?"

---------------

Aeris opened her eyes and immediately wished she hadn't. She groaned, and someone rushed to her side. She struggled to see the face. She saw long, light colored hair, and whoever it was, was tall. "Sephiroth?" she asked quietly, her voice cracked, but loud enough for the person to hear and understand, she hoped.

"Shh, honey, you need your rest now. That man isn't here right now. But don't you worry about him at the moment." Aeris' felt extremely disappointed. The voice was a woman's and not Sephiroth's deep voice.

"Where is he? Did he leave me here?" Aeris began to panic at the thought of being all alone.

"Get some rest now. Just get rest." The woman tried to calm Aeris down but it did no good.

"Where is he?" She struggled to sit up. "Please, is he still here?"

"Calm down." Aeris practically cried with relief. It was Sephiroth's voice this time. _Boy, have I changed. A few weeks ago, heck, a few days ago, I would have jumped with joy at Sephiroth being gone. What is going on with me?_

"Sephiroth!" Aeris said happily, albeit weakly, closing her mind to all the thoughts. "Are you okay?" she asked him. She sensed a change in Sephiroth already. She didn't know what it was but it was a change.

"Go to sleep. You have to get better." he replied, ignoring her question.

"But-" She was terrified he wouldn't be there when she woke up, and she would be alone.

"Don't worry. I'll still be here when you wake up." he said to her. She was startled at his comment, almost as if he had read her mind. She drifted into sleep.

A little while later, Aeris woke up feeling much better. "Hello?" she called, hoping for Sephiroth to answer, but expecting the woman. Nobody answered however. She sat up in bed with ease, and wondered how long she had been asleep. She swung her legs off the bed and stood up. Her legs felt wobbly. She glanced down at them and saw that they had numerous bruises all over them. She managed to keep her balance, and she walked slowly over to a window, with a chair sitting near it. She grabbed the chair and pulled it close to the window, and sat in it. Outside the window, she saw snow. Lots and lots of snow. There were snow covered trees and houses. Many little kids were playing in it, sledding mostly, but also building snowmen. She smiled. This town was somehow familiar, even though she couldn't recall ever being here before. In fact, she couldn't remember ever seeing snow before. Staring at people going about their everyday lives made her feel peaceful inside. It made everything worth it, all of things she had to endure since childhood, it was all okay now. She rested her elbow on the windowsill, and put her chin in her hand. She smiled.

---------------

Sephiroth walked into Aeris' hotel room, and found her bed empty. He quickly spotted her sitting in a chair across the room. He stared at her for a moment, in awe at how peaceful she seemed. He hadn't heard Jenova's voice since Aeris' little speech, and he didn't know why. He was surprised he didn't care more but, he just felt calmer, and more like his old self with her gone for awhile. Although he hadn't made a sound, Aeris suddenly looked up. She grinned.

"Sephy!" she exclaimed. He blinked, surprised.

"Excuse me?" he asked. She blushed.

"Oops, I didn't mean to call you that. Sorry." She smiled at him. "How long have we been here?"

"Two days. I came here after we left the cave." She nodded. He felt curious, so he had to ask. "How are you awake already? The nurse said it would be about two more days." She shrugged.

"I dunno. So where are we? I like it here."

"We are at Icicle Village. It's not too far from where we were." he replied. She turned to look out the window once more.

"I feel like I've been here before. It feels sort of familiar. I guess that's crazy though." she commented.

"Why is it crazy?" he questioned.

"Well, I spent the first six or seven years of my life in Shin-ra's 'care'. After that, I lived the rest of my life in the slums." she explained. Sephiroth stared at her. _With Shin-ra? That's where I was. We were at the same place. I wonder if I ever saw her, or talked to her._ Aeris turned to look at him. "What?" He turned around abruptly.

"You should get dressed. You can have a look around town, and we will leave very soon." He strode out of the room. _Just because we grew up in the same place, doesn't mean I should be any nicer to her_.

---------------

"Cloud..." Tifa said softly. Her eyes slowly opened and she groaned. She sat up on the cold metal table that she was laying on and glanced around. She saw Barret sitting down across the room. "Where are we?" she asked him, her voice scratchy and dry.

"Inside Shin-ra HQ in Junon. We been here 'bout three days. How are ya feelin'?" Barret asked. She shrugged.

"I'm not really sure right now. Give me some time and I'll let you know. Where are the others? Are they here?" Tifa asked, glancing around the room to make sure she didn't miss them in her hurried observation of the room. Now it was Barret's turn to shrug.

"Dunno. I saw Red, Cid, Cait, and Cloud when we were awake, but I dunno bout anyone else."

"What about Vincent? And Yuffie? Did you notice them?" She was panicked, more than she wanted to admit about not knowing where Vincent was. Barret shrugged again. He opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened before he could get a word out. A soldier, dressed in a bright blue uniform stepped in, carrying two trays with food. At first Tifa wanted to give him a dirty look or something, after all he did work for Shin-ra, but then she realized that he was just a man, doing his job. He handed her a tray, and out of habit, she said, "Thank you." He gave her a small smile, and then gave Barret a tray. He turned and left the room. Tifa looked down at the food. There was a gray piece of meat, a beige lump she figured was mashed potatoes, and a bowl of green beans. There was also a bottle of water. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. She looked up at Barret who had already started eating, and said, "I wish I was still unconscious."

---------------

Yuffie walked down the center of the streets of Junon. She was searching for a rookie looking soldier. She spotted one she thought might be rookie, judging by the way he was standing, and how young his face looked. She took a few steps closer but hid behind a trash can. He was talking to a superior officer, and she didn't want to be noticed yet. The officer walked away, and Yuffie prepared herself for the acting job of her life. She had to be convincing or else she wouldn't be of any use with her and Vincent's 'plan'. _Okay, here goes nothing_. She walked quickly up to the soldier. "Excuse me?" she said quietly, making her eyes big and scared.

"What's the problem, ma'am?" he asked turning and giving her his full attention. _Yes_! She thought_, Go me_!

"Umm... I was walking home and when I got to my house, the door was open and I heard someone moving inside. I'm afraid that someone's in there and I didn't want to go in by myself." she lied. She hoped she was convincing. She had forced some tears to streak down her face. Now, the soldier just had to take the bait.

"Okay, ma'am. You did the right thing by coming and telling me. Now just calm down and I'll check the house out for you. How does that sound?" he asked, smiling. Yuffie nodded bravely.

"Thank you!" she said breathlessly. They turned and headed to an empty house. She and Vincent had made sure no one was in it before Yuffie had gone into action. They walked inside and the soldier looked around.

"Okay, I think whoever was in here is gone now. Are you gonna be okay if-" He was cut short by Vincent who knocked him in the head with a baseball bat they had found around the house.

"I feel kinda bad..." Yuffie admitted. "He did try and help me, after all." Vincent nodded. "Well, I'll excuse you while you change."

A few short moments later, Vincent emerged, dressed in the soldier's uniform. "Wow! Don't you look spiffy?" Yuffie teased. Vincent ignored her.

"Okay, I'm going to go now. You tie that man up, and do not let him leave." Vincent instructed.

"'Course, Vinny. I can manage." She grinned, "Of course, I might check and make sure he doesn't have any good materia." Her smile faded. "Be careful," she added seriously. He nodded, and turned and walked out of the house. She reached over to her armlet, slipping her index finger into the empty slot at the end of the first row. It had previously held a high level Restore materia. However she had slipped into Vincent's gun after noticing he had no healing magic. _I just want everyone to be safe_, she thought.

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Hey, everyone! Sorry for the major update delay, but thats about how long it's going to take from now on. I honestly havent a clue about where this story is heading or hows in going to end. I'm just going to keep writing until I run out of ideas. Hope for the best! Now, my 'shout out' to my reviewers!

**Noacat- **Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really appreciate all the reviews and wonderful comments. I apoligize for the cliffhanger, but I'm trying to hook everyone! Thanks again!

**Ardwynna Morrigu**- Thanks for all your reviews! I hope you liked this chapter too, and I hope you continue to enjoy!

**sephiroth12285**- Thanks! I love Aeris/ Sephiroth stories too (obviously) and it's always fun to find other fans! Hope you liked this one!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy nor am I in any way affiliated with Square...Enix...Soft... (which is is, by the way?) I am, however, interested in purchasing them if they were sold for $3.32 and came with no responsibilities.

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

Tifa paced the small room, suddenly having sympathy for the animals she had loved to visit in the zoo as a child. She had been awake for about two days and was completely bored and worried. She was unbelievably concerned about Cloud and the others. She looked over at Barret who was taking a nap, and snoring loudly. She groaned. I _want out of here_! She thought, frustrated. _I wonder why we're still alive…I hope Cloud is okay. I hope Aeris is okay, and I hope she got out of that cave before those monsters came out_. She knew a guard would be coming by soon to make sure that they were still in their cell. _Maybe I should attack him_, she mused. Of course, Tifa wasn't an idiot. She knew with no weapon and no materia, she wouldn't get far. _I just want out_!

* * *

Aeris walked around a few laughing kids and smiled. Everything here was so cozy and familiar. She felt the icy wind cut through her jeans and shivered. After Sephiroth had left her room earlier, she had asked the nurse to get her some clothes. The woman, whose name turned out to be Gadien, returned with a pair of jeans and a thick green sweater. She had forgotten to buy her a jacket, but allowed Aeris to borrow one of hers for a few days, so Aeris selected a brown one. She had been walking around the town for a long time, trying to place where she recognized it from. Her ears, nose, toes, and fingers all felt like blocks of ice. _I guess I should go inside to warm up_. She headed toward a large building on the side of town. She wasn't sure what each place was, so she was basically guessing. She knocked on the heavy wooden door. "Hello?" she called out tentatively. No one answered. She twisted the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked. She pushed the door open, and stepped inside. "Hello? I'm sorry, I don't mean to…" She stopped her explanation after she looked at the place and saw it was empty, and looked deserted. Papers were scattered everywhere, there was a thick layer of dust on everything, and it smelled musty, like an attic. She turned, startled as she heard a noise behind her. She let out a sigh of relief as she recognized Sephiroth. "You scared me!" she exclaimed.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I wanted to warm up." She looked around. "I don't think anyone lives here." She walked over and sat down in one of the two chairs surrounding a table. Sephiroth remained standing in the doorway. "Um…Sephiroth? Could you close the door?" she asked, because he was letting cold air in. He stepped forward and shut the door behind him. Aeris glanced around the house once more, and noticed a set of stairs leading downward. She stood up and walked toward them. After reaching the bottom, she noticed on the back wall, two doors. She walked over to the closest one and opened it. It looked like it had once been a bedroom. She left the door open and walked to the other door. It also looked like a bedroom. She walked back up the stairs where she found Sephiroth sitting in the seat she had vacated. "Nobody's here." she said before she sat in the chair next to Sephiroth. He nodded. "Do you think anyone will mind if we stay here?" He lifted up an eyebrow.

"We?" he asked. Aeris nodded.

"Where are you staying? We could get our stuff and live here until we're ready to leave." Sephiroth nodded, and stood up to leave. "You're going now?"

"Well, when do you propose?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow again.

"Never mind." He walked out. She stood and walked over to a complicated looking machine with videos on top of it. She read the neatly printed labels on the side of each tape. "'The original crisis'…'What is "Weapon"?'… Confidential…" she read aloud softly. 'Hmm…do I want to watch any of these?' she questioned herself. "Nah, not right now. I think I'll see if there's anything immediate I can do to clean up this place." She walked around the kitchen, picking up the loose papers and putting them in a neat pile on the table, without even glancing at them. After she had cleaned all of the papers up, she grabbed them and stuffed them into an empty drawer. Pausing for a moment, she glanced at the tapes. She picked them up and put them in the drawer as well. Glancing around the kitchen, she said, "Now, if I were a broom, where would I be?" She spotted a door, partially hidden behind a wall. "Aha!" She walked over a flung open the door. The little bit of light that did filter in didn't help her sight much so she fiddled around for a light switch. After she found one and clicked it, she immediately recognized the buzzing sound that came with an almost dead light bulb. Frowning, she looked around and spotted a broom. Not noticing much else of interest, she turned and left. She began humming as she worked. After she was finished, she stopped to admire her handiwork. She turned and nearly slammed right into Sephiroth, who had entered the house without making a noise, as usual. She let out a surprised little gasp. "Oh, my gosh! You practically gave me a heart attack!" He didn't reply, just walked into the middle of the room. "I started cleaning up the kitchen but that's it so far. I was going to do the bedrooms next so we could sleep here tonight." He said nothing again, just nodded. Aeris shifted her weight feeling quite uncomfortable with Sephiroth just standing there. "Well, I'll get to that, then." She turned and walked down the stairs. Her sense of relief from being out of Sephiroth's silence was short-lived as she heard his footsteps following her down the stairs. She stifled a sigh and once they had both reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned to face him. "Do you feel like doing some chores?" she asked, hoping his answer was yes. He shrugged and then nodded. She unconsciously sighed in relief. "Okay. Why don't you stay out here and just pick up all of this stuff and if you get done before I do, do you mind sweeping?"

"No, I don't mind." he replied, but Aeris noticed he didn't move. She looked into his eyes and saw a number of emotions surprisingly displayed there. Confusion, sadness and quite a few other she couldn't identify.

"Sephiroth?" she said softly, slowly lifting her hand and touching his cheek lightly. He flinched a little and Aeris, surprised both at the fact that one person could flinch when just touched by another person and at the fact that Sephiroth had allowed himself to flinch, pulled her hand back a little. She felt her heart go out to the man standing in front of her. _Why isn't he moving? What's wrong with him_? Before she realized what was going on, Sephiroth's hand had drifted up and covered hers. She glanced over at their hands, before looking back at Sephiroth, who had moved closer. _He's going to kiss me_, she realized.

* * *

Sephiroth didn't know what he was doing. He had walked into the house, and when he saw Aeris he had felt a combination of strange emotions. The human part of him, the part that was hidden beneath a mask, had felt this bizarre need to touch her. Which he was doing now. Somehow, he found his face getting closer and closer to hers. He could feel her breath on his face and just when their lips were about to meet, Aeris pulled away. "Um…I need to finish cleaning," she said, her voice barely a whisper. She didn't step away however, and suddenly Sephiroth realized what he had been about to do. He took a step backwards. Without saying a word he turned and walked out of the room, into the nearest bedroom and shut the door. He perched on the edge of the old dusty bed in the room. _I can not believe what just happened in there… Where has my mother gone? She wouldn't have let me do that if she was here_. For the umpteenth time since arriving in this town, Sephiroth reached his mind out looking for his mother. "Mother?" he spoke softly_. I am here…_ a soft voice replied and Sephiroth knew the instant he heard it that it was Jenova. "Who are you?" he whispered, so as not to attract attention from Aeris in the next room. _Come, my child, and you will see_. the soft voice replied and Sephiroth collapsed onto the bed as a tidal wave of memories plagued his mind.

* * *

Vincent had been searching the Junon base for almost a day now. It was the seventh day since the rest of Avalanche had been kidnapped. For some reason Vincent knew that something was going to happen today. He walked as he had sixty years ago when he was a member of Shin-ra. When he glanced up, he noticed a group of soldiers walking down a nearby flight of stairs. Poking out of the top of the circle of soldiers was a familiar black haired crew cut. _Barret…_ he realized. Making his way over toward the crowd, he tried to blend in. He added himself to the back of the pack, and began slowly pushing his way ahead of most of the soldiers, until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Tifa. He felt a rush of warmth when she brushed against him. They had reached a large set of metal doors, which they pushed their way through. Surprisingly, there were quite a few people sitting in the room that they had entered. _A public execution_, Vincent summarized, judging by the video cameras. He tuned out of the following words Scarlet, who was apparently in charge of everything right now, said to Tifa, Barret, and the audience. He was focusing on how he would help the others. _How?_ he questioned himself. Luckily, the problem was solved for him when Scarlet pointed at him and told him to follow her. He did as he was told, and followed Scarlet and Tifa into a small chamber. As Scarlet closed the door behind them and forced Tifa into her seat, Vincent made an impulsive decision. "Scarlet…"he said in a low voice, as she lifted her arm to slap Tifa. She turned and glared at him.

"Shut your mouth!" she snapped. He took a step forward and said, in what must have been a terribly scary way because her eyes widened, "Make me."

"How dare you!" she spat out and, before she could say anything else, Vincent cast a sleep spell on her. He turned to face Tifa, and she was staring at him with confusion.

"Who are you?" she asked softly. Vincent reached up and pulled off the Shin-ra helmet, allowing his hair to fall free. "Vincent!" she cried. He saw a surprising amount of happiness there and after he let her up, she threw her arms around him. He got a strange feeling when she hugged that he couldn't place. He awkwardly placed his arms on her back, and a few short seconds later he pulled away and said "We have to get to Barret and the others." she nodded. Vincent took the key from Scarlet and led the way out of the chamber.

* * *

Aeris knocked on Sephiroth's door. She hated having to see him again but she knew he must be hungry. It had been at least six hours since he had last eaten. "Sephiroth?" she called through the door. "Are you hungry?" No answer. She frowned. _He must be mad at me_, she assumed. However, something told her that she should go into the room. She opened the door, already mentally preparing herself for Sephiroth's cold demeanor she knew he would show. Somehow, she knew something was wrong even before she saw Sephiroth lying on the bed, kind of sideways. She rushed to his side and shook his arm. "Sephiroth…?" she whispered. He gave no response. "Oh my gosh…" Aeris whispered. "What happened?" Sephiroth remained motionless on his bed.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry! I know it's been forever since I updated and when I finally do, it's a chapter that is like five words long. However, I do havesome fairly good reasons for not updating. Also, at the moment I'm facing a cruel beast called 'writer's bloack'. It sucks. (I hope people are still reading this...) Let's see... I'm not sure when I'll update again. I'll try to do it as soon as possible, but I'm not going to make any promises as to when. I might try to start a new story, one with Aeris as my main character (of course) but I don't know about couple combination. Any ideas, let me know! Oh, and thank you to anyone who's reviewed recently! You guys are my heroes and you ll get imaginary gold stars!**


	7. Message to Readers

Hey, everyone! I'm really sorry about the delays in updating! I promise I haven't given up! My computer's broken; I'm putting this up at school while I'm supposed to be writing a final draft to a paper. I'll get it up as soon as possible (the next chapter, not my paper), I promise! Please, don't hate me and don't forget about my story (if you haven't already!) I'll see you soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Ready for something shocking? I actually don't own these characters...I know, I was just as surprised...**

**AN: This chapter is completely filler. I'm posting it so that you guys know that I haven't given up. Basically, I haven't updated 'cause we moved and gave my computer to a guy my dad works with to fix, and we haven't seen it since… It's been almost a year I think… Anyway, basically, not much is gonna happen in this chappie. I just want to out something up. If I get the chance later, I may even replace it…Hmm… Anywho, on with the pointlessness!**

* * *

Aeris wasn't sure what she should do. At the moment, she was sitting beside Sephiroth's bed, staring at him, willing him to wake up. With some effort, she had moved him so that he lay on the bed the correct way and she had covered him with the blanket. She reached over and touched his hand. It was icy. '_Sephiroth, what's wrong with you?_' She shook his shoulder, beginning to feel a little desperate. "Wake up." She told him. She placed her palm flat on his cheek, hoping that he would flinch away like he had before. His skin was so _cold_. '_Okay_,' she thought, '_warm him up, it may not do anything, but I'll_ feel _like I'm doing something to help_.' Feeling very slightly better with a plan in mind, she headed to the kitchen for warm water and a washcloth.

'_Where am I_?' Sephiroth thought groggily. The last thing he remembered was that soft, sweet voice inside his head. After years of training, he knew better than to wake up when he wasn't sure what kind of situation he'd be waking up to. '_Take in your surroundings through your other four senses,_' he remembered a teacher once saying. Okay, so smell…It smelled sort of musty, and was that rose shampoo? Taste…Well, no blood and he wasn't gagged so that was good. Hear… Crickets. Touch…He was laying on something soft and there was a strange warmth on his right side. Suddenly, he remembered collapsing on the bed and… What happened after that? He couldn't remember. 'One thing at a time,' he told himself. He opened his eyes. The room was lit only by a small lamp on the table next to his bed. 'What time is it?' He wondered, and started to get up to look, when he discovered the source of the warmth at his side. Aeris lay, curled against him, a cloth of some kind clutched in her hand. He stopped himself before he managed to move much. '_What is she doing there? How can she lay there, completely unafraid of me?_' He reached over and pushed a tendril of hair out of her face. 'What is this I'm feeling? Why am I smiling just by looking at her? Is this what the soldiers used to call a "crush"…? Interesting….' He lay back down, and put an arm around her. 'Only because if she catches a cold I'm going to have to be the one to take care of her.' He told himself stubbornly as he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

**AN: Okay, I know this was complete crap, but get over it! . Sorry, no other characters right now, 'cause I'm not sure what I'm gonna make happen with them…I'm probably making things move too quickly, but, like I said, I may replace this later. Let me know what you guys think! And a HUGE thank you to all of you who continued to read this even though I'm the most horrible update-r in the history of the world!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII *sigh* If only....... but I don't.......**

Somehow, everyone had managed to escape the Shin-Ra building onto the Highwind. They had all gathered in the cockpit to discuss what they were going to do.

"Let's look at our list of problems." Tifa suggested. "First, Aeris is still missing. Second, we have Cloud, but he's still unresponsive. Third, the Black Materia was left on Gaea's Cliff and there's nothing stopping Sephiroth from going to get it. Thoughts? Ideas?" Red took a step forward.

"Well, we seem to need Aeris to be able to reach Cloud. Also, she was with Sephiroth when last we saw her, there's a large possibility that she still is. If Sephiroth's goal is to get the Black Materia, the we should head to Gaea's Cliff." He deduced shrewdly.

"How did you get so smart?" Yuffie asked, looking a little annoyed.

"Instead of runnin' around stealin' people's materia, he read. You might consider that, brat." Cid answered her. Yuffie started to stick her tongue out at him. However, a sudden bout of airsickness made her cover her mouth and run.

"So, we're headed to Gaea's Cliff?" the pilot asked, sounding nervous. Tifa thought it over, and then nodded.

"If it's alright with you guys, I'd like to spend time with Cloud. I don't think that I could focus on anything else right now." Tifa told the group.

"That's probably best….For Cloud…..an' for you…." Barret replied, looking sympathetic. She managed to give a small smile in return. She walked out of the cockpit.

"Tifa," a deep voice said from behind her. She jumped, and turned quickly to face it.

"Vincent, you really need to learn the art of not sneaking up on people." Tifa informed him. He nodded seriously, and Tifa wondered for a minute if he knew she was joking.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking at her intensely. She gave a small smile, and nodded.

"I'll be fine." He continued to look at her, like he was waiting for her to say something else. With him looking at her like, she felt the need to expand. "Cloud's just my oldest friend. I've known him since I can remember. I just…I'm scared for him." Vincent nodded, and seemed to accept this explanation. Tifa turned to walk towards Cloud's room. "Vincent…" She started, turning her head to face him a little. "He'll be okay, right?" There was a pause, and she wondered for a minute whether he was still there.

"We have to hope. Isn't that what you told me?" He replied. Tifa couldn't help but smile. She turned to face him again.

"Thank you." She told him. With one final smile, she walked into Cloud's room.

******

Aeris woke up the next morning with a crick in her neck. 'I wonder when I fell asleep,' she wondered, still half-asleep. 'Oh, right!' She suddenly remembered Sephiroth. She say up on the bed, and looked down at him. Reaching out, she touched his hand. It seemed to be back to it's normal temperature. She let out a sigh of relief. Stretching, she tried to figure out what to do with the rest of her day. 'Let's see… Finish cleaning, get some food and clothes… I think that's it.' Glancing down at Sephiroth one last time, Aeris stood up to start her day.

Several hours later, she returned to the house, weighted down by many, many shopping bags. She walked in and found Sephiroth, staring into the refrigerator.

"Good morning," Aeris said, smiling at him. She dropped her bags next to and on the table. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Fine. What's all this?" He asked, indicating to the bags.

"It's food, clothes and other necessities." She replied. She started rooting around in the bags. After a few minutes, she let out a cry of triumph. "Found it!" Sephiroth looked over at her.

"Found what?" He asked.

"This!" She held up a pale green, silk shirt that very closely matched his eyes.

"What is that?" He looked confused. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"It's a shirt," she replied slowly, flipping it around to face her. Yes, it definitely looked like a shirt. She wasn't crazy.

"Isn't is a little big for you?" He questioned, peeking into the other bags to see what she had gotten.

"Yes it is. That's why it's for you." She answered, looking pleased with herself. He stopped moving, and then looked at her slowly.

"Me? What makes you think I would wear that? And why would you buy me clothes?" He asked, looking completely baffled.

"It's pretty. Plus, you have to have clothes. Go try it on!" She demanded excitedly. He shook his head, then seemed to dismiss her. Aeris pulled a pouty face. "Try it on!" She said again, walking closer to him and holding it up in front of his face. He took a step back. "I'm going to keep harassing you until you do it, so you might as well just give up now." she informed him. He sighed loudly, rolled his eyes, and snatched the shirt out of her hands, heading into what had sort of become his room. 'I win,' Aeris thought, proudly. While waiting for him to change, she started unloading the bags, and organizing the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she turned around to see Sephiroth standing there, wearing the shirt with the black, leather pants he always wore. 'He looks like a pimp,' was her first thought. On closer inspection, she realized that he looked like a very, very attractive pimp.

"Um," she began, trying to think of what to say. "Silk shirts and leather pants maybe aren't the best look. However, that color looks fantastic on you." She informed him.

"I feel ridiculous." He said seriously, and Aeris started laughing. "What are you laughing at?" He asked, looking annoyed.

"I don't know," she replied, controlling her amusement. "Maybe you should buy your own clothes." She decided.

"I doubt I'll need them. We probably won't be here very long." He answered, heading back into his room.

After a few minutes, he reemerged, back in his usual ensemble. He headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Aeris called after him.

"Out," He answered, closing the door behind him. 'He's so moody. He's like a girl.' She thought, confused. 'What's wrong with him?'

**********

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered, looking at him lying on a bed in the Highwind's cabin. "Wake up, Cloud. Where are you? What are you seeing right now?" She studied his face. He looked so peaceful, Tifa almost wanted to let him keep sleeping. "I can't, though, Cloud. You understand, right? I can't do this without you. I need you here." She kneeled beside his bed, and grabbed his hand. Without warning, there was a bright flash. She closed her eyes against the glare and when she opened them again, she was standing at the entrance of Nibelheim. A dark haired man was standing with two Shin-Ra soldiers standing on either side of him. '_What?_'

"Alright, let's go." A deep voice said behind her. Tifa spun around and saw Sephiroth walking into town. '_This is… Five years ago…' _She remembered. Suddenly, what Aeris had told her earlier about Cloud's past being different flashed into her mind. _'I have to help him find himself?' _Tifa let out a nervous sigh. _'Well, let's get started.'_

**AN: Again, with the fluff. I apologize. But, I recently went to an Anime Convention and I thought of this story while I was there. So, hopefully I'll be able to finish it! I'm going out of town this week (a ten hour drive) so I might brainstorm and stuff as to what will happen next while I'm gone. I hope someone is still reading this! I am so, so sorry that I stopped writing for so long! I will do my best to do better! **


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: If I owned FF7, would I be writing fanficiton?**

* * *

Aeris wandered around the house, bored. 'I explored the town yesterday, finished cleaning the house earlier and now I have nothing to do…' She wished it wasn't so cold here so she could start a garden. Although, that would probably be a waste of time considering that Sephiroth said that they wouldn't be here long. She continued meandering through the house, making her way upstairs to the kitchen area. 'Oh, yeah! Those videos and papers! I can look through them to see if I can throw them away!' Aeris, excited at the prospect of something to do, immediately rushed towards to drawer she had stuffed them in the day before.

It took her awhile, but eventually she had figured how to work the complicated video system that had been set up. Aeris grabbed the one labelled 'The Original Crisis' and began to play it. At first the screen remained dark, but after a few seconds the screen showed the room Aeris was currently in, although the color seemed a little strange. The video moved up and down like the camera wasn't sure where it was supposed to be. On screen, there was a man dressed in a lab coat and a beautiful woman in a red dress. Aeris studied the woman closely. Something about her was so familiar. Who was she? All of the sudden, the man went to stand next to the woman.

"Camera's ready!" He announced excitedly, sounding almost like a kid. He seemed to remember he was an adult, and started talking again in a professsional voice. "Then, Ifalna, please tell us about the Cetra." He stepped away from her, as if to let her take the spotlight, but continued to focus all of his attention on her.

"2000 years ago, our ancestors, the Cetra, heard the cries of the Planet. The first ones to discover the Planet's wound were the Cetra at the Knowlespole." The woman, Iflana, stated. Aeris paused the video excitedly to think. 'Is this some kind of history of the Cetra?! Am I going to be able to find out more, finally?' She took a deep breath to calm down. Just as she was about to start the video again, something else clicked in her head. 'That woman's name is…Iflana? That was… My mother's name… Is that…?' Could it be? Aeris had vague memories of her mother. Most of her memories involved the Shin-Ra headquaters. 'I'll have to listen to her voice. I hear her voice sometimes, so I should recongize it.' Aeris swallowed hard, and pressed play again.

"Tell us Ifalna... Where is the land called 'Knowlespole'?" The scientist asked her.

"Knowlespole refers to this area. The Cetra then began a Planet-reading." Her voice. It sounded the same. There was no way, was there?

"Ifalna, what exactly does Planet-reading entail?"

"...I can't explain it very well, but it's like having a conversation with the Planet... It said something fell from the sky making a large wound. Thousands of Cetra pulled together, trying to heal the Planet... But, due to the severity of the wound, it was only able to heal itself, over many years." Iflana gestured while she was speaking, as if to make it easier to understand. But Aeris did understand. She had many conversations with the Planet. In fact, when she was younger, it seemed like, besides her foster mother, the Planet was the only one she ever talked to.

"Do the Ancients, rather, the Cetra, have special powers to heal the Planet?" The man questioned her. She shook her head.

"No, it's not that kind of power." She paused like she was trying to think of a way to explain it. "The life force of all living things on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra tried desperately to cultivate the land so as not to diminish the needed energy..."

"Hmm, even here so close to the North Cave, the snow never melts. Is that because the planet's energy is gathered here to heal its injury?" Iflana lowered her head after this question was asked, like it hurt her to think about it.

"Yes, the energy that was needed to heal the Planet withered away the land... then the Planet... The Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the Knowlespole, but..." Her voice broke at the end and she stopped talking. Aeris felt her eyes get wet too, as she thought of the pain the Planet must have been in. In the video, the doctor lifted his shoulders.

"Ifalna... Let's take a break." He suggested to her softly. He sounded so gentle when he said that. 'Who is this man? Are they…?' Aeris wondered. Iflana shook her head.

"I'm all right... When the Cetra... were preparing to part with the land they loved..." She turned her body away, but not before Aeris saw the look of intense pain she had on her face. "That's when it appeared! It looked like... our... our dead mothers... and our dead brothers. Showing us specters of their past."

"Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave? I haven't any idea." The man asked, still talking gently.

"That's when the one who injured the Planet... or the 'crisis from the sky', as we call him, came." Iflana continued, almost as if she hadn't heard him. She covered her face up with her hands. "He first approached as a friend, deceived them, and finally...... gave them the virus." She paused in her story and looked up again. "The Cetra were attacked by the virus and went mad... transforming into monsters." She sank to the floor. It was almost she was talking about the loss of her entire family, the intense pain she displayed. The scientist ran to her side. "Then, just as he had at the Knowlespole. He approached other Cetra clans...... infecting them with... the virus..."

"You don't look well... Let's call it a day." He told her softly, rubbing her back for a moment before walking back over to the console and pressing a few buttons. With that, the video ended. There were more videos and Aeris fully intended to watch them. But at the moment she felt completely off balance. 'That was my mother. I know it. I can _feel_ it. My mother.' She took a couple of deep breaths because she felt dangerously dizzy. This was unbelievable. What were the odds of this? Of her ending up in this town, in this house where her mother had lived so long ago. Of there not being anyone living here now, of her belongings still being here, of the videos still working. 'My mother.' Aeris realized that she had been crying.

"She was really beautiful." She said out loud, clutching the video to her chest. 'I've got to watch the next one,' she said to herself, already putting the called 'What is Weapon'?' in the player, and leaning forward eagerly. On screen, the same scientist was pressing buttons on the console thing again. Her mother was sitting down in the corner, and Aeris' eyes stayed glued to her. The man took a few steps closer to her.

"Ifalna, can you comment on the thing called 'Weapon'?" He asked.

"Yes, Professor," she replied, smiling. She stood up and walked over to him. "The one the Professor mistook for a Cetra... was named Jenova. That is the 'crisis from the sky'. The Planet knew it had to destry the 'crisis from the sky'... You see, as long as Jenova exists, the Planet will never be able to fully heal itself." Jenova? Oh, no. Aeris started to feel worried about Sephiroth as she watched this.

"Back then, Weapon was a weapon the Planet produced of its own will?" The professor questioned.

"Yes, but... There is no record of Weapon ever being used. A small number of the surviving Cetra defeated Jenova, and confined it. The Planet produced Weapon... But it was no longer necessary to use it." She replied. The man shrugged.

"So, Weapon no longer exists on the Planet?" Iflana shook her head as he said this.

"Weapon cannot vanish. ...It remains asleep somewhere on the Planet. Even though Jenova is confined, it could come back to life at some time... The Planet has not fully healed itself yet. It is still watching Jenova." 'Yes it is,' Aeris thought, 'only now the Planet has only me, a half breed to defend it.' She sighed. 'I hope I don't let you down, mom.' The video continued, interrupting her thoughts.

"Where is Weapon?" He wanted to know. Iflana looked away.

"I don't know...... I can't hear the voice of the Planet well... Times... have changed. The Planet... is probably watching this situation closely." She rubbed her eyes, like she was trying to get rid of tears. The Professor turned away and shook his head, almost like he was disappointed. Then he turned back.

"…Thank you, Iflana, that will be all for today." He told her softly, before turning the camera off once again. Weapon. That was the creature that had come out of the Northern Crater when Aeris had been there before. Did that mean that Jenova's plan was still going forward? What about Sephiroth? What was happening? 'The next video. Maybe it will tell me something.' She grabbed the one that said confidential and popped it in the player. After a moment, two choices appeared on the screen. 'Daughter's Record: 10th Day After Birth' and 'Daughter's Record: 20th Day After Birth'. 'Daughter's record? Is it… about me?' Aeris wondered, her heart beating wildly. She choose the first option, 10 days. The screen went black.

"What are you doing, Profes...... I mean, honey?" Iflana's voice asked, although the screen remained dark.

"Oh, I'm thinking of taping it on video. But, the video's not working right..." The professor answered, sounding confused. Aeris could hear him pressing buttons and moving around, but the video never came on.

"What are you going to tape? Is there still something I haven't mentioned?"

"No, that's not it. I'm going to record my beautiful daughter." He replied proudly. 'Is he talking about me? Is he my father?' "And when she's sleeping, her face ...looks like an angel." He said it softly, and Aeris wondered if he was looking at her as a baby when he said it. Iflana laughed a little.

"First, we have to figure out her name. We can take the video later!" she scolded him lightly.

"I've already decided! If it's a girl, then it'll be Aeris. That's that!" He announced. 'My name. He is my father. My father named me. I never knew that.' Tears welled up in her eyes as she listened.

"You are SO selfish! But Aeris is a good name!" Iflana was smiling as she said it, Aeris was sure she could hear it in her voice. "Hee hee... it's a good name, considering it came out of that forgetful head of yours!" They both laughed at that.

"Right!? Oh, the video tape......" Aeris could hear the professor, her father, press another button and her parents voices stopped. There was a lot to consider after watching these videos, but she didn't giver herself time to think. She immediately started the 20 days video. This time it wasn't just audio so Aeris got to see her parents again. Her father was at the console, probably fixing it after the error in playing last time. Her mother came over to stand next to him.

"Video again? You just got through taping!" She said to him, surprised. He gave her a hurt look.

".........Please don't say it that way." He pouted at her. "It's our lovely daughter, both yours... and mine! Don't you want to capture her childhood on videotape?"

"If you keep doting on her like that, she won't grow up to be strong... Aeris is different from the other children. I wonder what dangers await her...?" Iflana sounded worried and sad. Aeris felt the tears that had been sitting in her eyes spill over. Her father faced away from her mother.

"Never say that! I will protect you and Aeris no matter what!!" He turned back to face her. "You and Aeris are my only treasures. I'll never let you go!!" 'If he meant that, then where did he go? Why can't I remember him at all?' Aeris wondered.

"I feel so much better now, darling." Iflana said, smiling at him. Her eyes looked wet. "If I hadn't met you, I......" Her voice broke. The professor walked over to her and put his arms around her neck. Just as he leaned in to kiss her, there was a knock on the door. He pulled away and turned to face it.

"Who could that--! I was just about to..." He sounded annoyed. "Damn!!" He grabbed his head, probably to let out his frustration. Her mother covered her face, looking a little embarrassed. "How dare they intrude on our 'private time' together!"

"I'll send them away." Iflana said, looking at him.

"Yes, at once!! Who the devil?" Aeris couldn't help smiling at this point. They were kind of cute together, so in love and happy. Iflana walked over to the door and opened it. A strong wind blew through the room.

"It, it's them!!" Iflana cried out, sounding scared. She ran behind the professor to hide. Two Shin-Ra guards ran into the room, guns out, followed by Hojo. Aeris swallowed, a sick feeling in her stomach as she watched. Hojo walked right up to her father.

"Heh, heh, heh...... I've been searching for you, Ifalna... Or should I say, Cetra!" Both of Aeris' parents stared at him defiantly. "Long time no see, Professor Gast!" 'My father was Professor Gast? I didn't know…'

"Hojo... How did you know?" He asked, angrily.

"Believe me, I had to turn over a stone or two to find you." He replied, in his nasally voice. Hojo turned away, and Gast shook his head. "Two years I waited.... That's how much I wanted this new sample..... Ha, ha, ha." He turned back to face her father. He looked shocked as he stared at the unwelcome visitor.

"...New sample? You don't mean Aeris!?" He grabbed onto the front of Hojo's lab coat, furiously. the guards pointed their guns at Gast, and he froze. Hojo pushed him away.

"Hmm, Aerith? What a nice name...... Ha, ha, ha." He looked at Aeris' parent arrogantly. Gast grabbed his head, again.

"That's it! I'm severing all ties with the Shinra." He decided out loud. "Hojo, please leave." For the first time since the people from Shin-Ra had appeared, Iflana moved. She walked, very calmly, in front of Gast and knelt in front of Hojo.

"Please, Aerith has nothing to do with it! All you want is me, right?" She looked calm, but her voice sounded very panicked. Gast looked at her shocked.

"Ifalna!" He looked so scared. 'Oh, please, I don't want to watch this.' Aeris thought, but she couldn't bring herself to stop the video. Hojo nodded at Iflana.

"I'll need all of you for my experiment." He looked at her father. "You understand, don't you, Professor Gast? We can change the future of the Planet!" He sounded like some kind of crazy cult leader. Gast stepped forward and knelt on the floor next to Iflana.

"Don't worry, Ifalna. I'll take care of this!" He tried to reassure her and she tried to smile at him.

"Please don't put up a fight. I don't want any harm to come to my precious sample." Hojo said calmly. He turned to face the camera. "Mmm? What a funny looking camera. Guard! Destroy it!" One of the guards, the one closet to the camera, turned and shot at the camera. Aeris jumped as he did so, almost forgetting that she was just watching and not actually in the video. The screen went black, but she could still hear everything that was going on. "Be careful with her!! Ha, ha, ha......" There was the sounding of someone struggling, and the something that sounded like someone being hit.

"Wh... what are you doing, Professor!?" Iflana cried out.

"Ifalna! Take Aerith and run!!" Gast answered, sounding out of breath. Out of nowhere, there was the sound of a gunshot. Iflana screamed.

"Darling......!!" There was a pause, and the sound of her mother crying, and the sound of a baby crying.

"Oh, and uh... don't forget the child!" Hojo commanded. There was sounds like he was rifling through something. "Hmm, a video? The Ancients... Weapon!?" He sounded excited. "Heh, heh, heh... a mountain of treasure! Thank you, Professor... Ha, ha, ha." The sound faded on Hojo's laughter. Aeris sat in front of the video player, frozen. Tears continued to stream down her face. 'My parents. I saw them alive and I heard my father die. He tried to protect us.' She tried to stop crying, so she could process the information she had just received, but she couldn't. She stood up and walked over to the sink to splash water on her face. She tried to gulp in air, but she just kept crying. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face it, and saw Sephiroth standing there, looking concerned.

"What happened?" He asked. He looked around the room, almost like he was expecting an attack. Without thinking about it, Aeris stepped forward, buried her face in his chest, and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his body stiffen, but she stayed anyway. She just needed someone to hold her right now. After a moment, his arms awkwardly went around her, and Aeris held him closer. She would need to figure out what everything meant soon, but, for now, she just breathed in and grieved for her parents.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh, my God! A new chapter! I'm so sorry! I suck as an author! And even I find this chapter kind of boring, but I'm trying to figure out where this story is going, so bear with me. Anyways, no promises as to when I'll upload another chapter. I don't have reliable use of a computer. So, I hope you enjoy this, and I'm sorry if you don't. And also, thank you very much to all the people who have read and reviewed this story! You guys are the reason I even bother! So thanks!**


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